Bloodshed and Rattles
by DreamonAlina
Summary: The Originals AU of Ripples of Reality. Juliet Gilbert has awoken from a one month coma in New Orleans, surrounded by the Mikaelson family. Now as the fight for New Orleans begins, Juliet must figure out how she fits into Klaus's new life, especially when she has no memories of him. Oh, and she's pregnant with his child. Eventual Klaus/OC with a bit of Elijah/OC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Summary: **The Originals AU of Ripples of Reality. Juliet Gilbert has woken up from a coma that she has been in for an entire summer after an accident with the Immortal being Silas. Luckily, Klaus found her, and took her to New Orleans. When she wakes up, she's shocked to see this British Original Hybrid that she has no memory of (and no memories from the past two years at all), and his family surrounding her. Now she has to learn how she fits into Klaus's new life as he fights for the crown of New Orleans. And the worst part?

She's pregnant with his kid.

**Author's Note:** So here is the AU of Ripples of Reality!

Okay, I know that it's technically Hayley that gets pregnant, but I thought that it would be so much more interesting if Juliet was the pregnant one! I think it would be really fun to have Juliet have absolutely no idea who Klaus is, and is pregnant with his child.

So PLEASE don't hate me for it!

This is just the prologue, because I just want something up for it.

EDIT: I HAD TO CHANGE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PROLOGUE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T GO WITH WHAT I WROTE FOR THE FIRST EPISODE.

* * *

Do you ever want to step away from your life? Like, go into someone else's body and observe your life?

And then everything that was going on in your life would seem ridiculous, because you weren't the one living it? And then you could walk away from the situation untouched forever?

That was what I want to do right now.

Because I was in an accident. A bad one. I didn't remember what happened, but that was mainly due to the memory loss.

That went with my coma.

Yeah, I was in a coma for a summer. But that's okay, because I was with people that cared about me.

Grant it, I had no idea who these people _were_, but they seemed...nice. Okay, only one guy seemed nice, but that was only because he's constantly in a suit and I loved a man in a suit.

I also wished that I could leave my life because of the mess that I had seemed to gotten myself into.

I was pregnant. With the miracle child of a vampire-werewolf hybrid. My baby's father wanted us dead, there are witches were more than happy to do the deed unless the father helped them, the brother of my baby's father was trying to save me from being a bargaining chip, and I was caught in the middle of an all out war in the fight for the control of New Orleans.

But what can I say? I was Juliet Jordan Gilbert.

Mess and I were kind of a package deal.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Really short, I know. It's just a bit of an introduction. And once this story is up, I'll feel obligated to update, as opposed to me not caring about it as it just sits in my documents.**

**So PLEASE let me know what you think so far!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	2. Always and Forever

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** ONE chapter and 66 followers? Don't hold back, guys. You guys must be really excited for this AU!

Also, so sorry it took so long! I was just struck with inspiration a couple nights ago and just decided to go with it!

ATTENTION: I have changed what happened in the prologue because it didn't fit with what was going on in this chapter, so please go read the prologue again or this chapter might not make sense!

EDIT: I have to change some stuff! Instead of a three month coma, it's now a one month coma.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

But let's step back a bit, shall we?

Once I woke up from my coma, I was so confused. Confused as to where I was, confused as to who were the people I was with, and confused as to why my stomach was slightly bulging. Maybe I had eaten too much.

The guy Klaus tried explaining everything to me, but I was so confused. We were in a hotel, but it was a rather large suite.

Which was why I had to plan my escape carefully.

Well, I actually didn't plan it all that carefully. I just grabbed a pair of clothes and told Klaus that I was going to take a shower before dashing into the bathroom.

I shut and locked the door, before grabbing the small table that was in there and shoving it in front of the door. Then I turned the shower tap on full blast, and before I could change into different clothes, I was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea, and I leaned over the toilet before promptly throwing up in it. I retched for a couple of minutes, and once I was sure I was done, I brushed my teeth and flushed the toliet. Then I started changing out of the old shorts and t-shirt I was wearing and into a pair of black jeans, black t-shirt, and a black sweater. Yeah, I was wearing all black to blend in with a crowd and hopefully slip out of New Orleans with a bus ticket.

Anyways, I shoved my other clothes into a backpack (filled with some clothes, food, and money) before slipping it onto my back. I pulled my hood up, before opening the window. I stuck my head out, wincing at the drop. It was my only way out...

Taking a deep breath, I put two hands on the window sill, pulling myself out of the room. I carefully put my feet on the roof part below me, before gently sliding myself down the roof. Unfortunately, my foot got caught in a snag on the roof, and I went sailing forwards.

I held back my scream as I fell off of the roof. I knew that that Klaus guy had vampire hearing, so if he didn't hear me trying to sneak out, then he was definitely going to hear me screaming. I closed my eyes as I prepared myself for the impact of falling, and I groaned as I made contact with the ground. I quickly looked myself over, and decided that I wasn't too bad off. It was just the scrapes on my hands that might bother me later...

And then to my utter horror and confusion, my hands started closing up on their own. I didn't even know how, so don't ask me why.

"Oh God," I whispered to myself before picking myself up off of the ground. My hood fell off when I fell, so I quickly flipped it back on my head before running off.

* * *

I was in New Orleans. That much I knew. But that's only because Klaus told me when I woke up.

I wrapped my arms around me as I wandered the dark streets. Even though it was pretty late at night, there was still a lot of people out in the streets. I wanted to relish in the beauty of everything, from the people, to the scenery, to the food. But I was more concerned with the fact that I have no idea who the person that I was with is, or how I got here.

For some reason, there was a tour going on, so I just followed with the group, hoping to stay lost. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, so I didn't notice a man in a suit standing in front of me. That is, until I bumped right into him.

My hood goes flying off, and I would have gone crashing to the ground, if the person I had bumped into hadn't caught me.

My hands clutched at his arms as his arms went around my back.

"Easy there," He lightly commented in a deep British accent, but then he got a good look at my face, and he narrowed his eyes. "Juliet?" He asked in disbelief.

I gripped his sleeves. "How do you know my name?"

"It's me, Elijah," The man, or, Elijah, said.

"Am I supposed to know you?" I asked him.

"Do you not remember me?" He asked, his voice faltering.

"Should I remember you?" I responded with a question as he righted me.

He opened his mouth but quickly closed it. Then he opened it again. "Juliet, I promise you that you can trust me."

I wasn't too sure. I mean, he knew my name, but a lot of other people did too! "Tell me something that someone I would trust would know."

He quickly looked around, before grabbing my arm and taking me over to the side. "Your sister's name is Elena Gilbert, your brother's Jeremy Gilbert. Your best friends are Matt Donovan, Caroline Forbes, and Bonnie Bennett."

"How do you know that?" I asked him. Did he really know me?

"Because I knew you when you were in Mystic Falls," He told me, before offering his hand to me. "Juliet, if you stay with me, I promise you'll be safe."

Was I really willing to trust this guy? I apparently did before I lost my memories, and he was the only ally I had right now. I gently put my hand in his outstretched one.

"Just stay close, okay?" Elijah told me as we began walking again. I had no idea where he was leading me, but if it was at a decent hotel or out of New Orleans, I was completely cool with either one.

It turned out that we were just following the people in the tour group that I was trying to blend in with. Elijah motioned for me to stay quiet, and I promptly did so as we walked.

A bit into the walk, he pointed at the front of the group. "The girl at the front's name is Sabine. She's a witch."

Witches were real? Well, I guess if vampires and werewolves were, why not witches?

Eventually, Sabine led the tourists into a shop, and she turned around to stand off to the side when she said, "Are you going to continue following me, Elijah?" She turned to face the two of us. "Or do you want to talk?"

"You know who I am?" He asked, though I wasn't sure if his tone suggested he was surprised or not.

"Original vampire who always wears a suit," She stated. But who was this chick? "You and your family are famous amongst the witches, especially with your...brother back in town."

What was this family's history with New Orleans?

"Well, Niklaus is here because he learned that a witch was conspiring against him," Elijah said. "Someone by the name of Jane-Anne Deveraux."

Sabine's face fell as a look of sadness crossed her face. "Well, if he's looking for Jane-Anne, he's a little too late."

Elijah and I exchanged looks as we both came to the same realization. Elijah turned to face Sabine. "Are you telling me that she's dead?" He asked her.

She hesitated before saying, "Come on. Her sister Sophie's gonna want to talk to you."

Sabine turned around to lead the way. I looked to Elijah, wondering if this was safe. I wasn't a vampire, or a witch, or a werewolf. I was just a teenager scared out of her mind.

Elijah let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my back, placing his hand on my arm. "I promised you, you would be okay," He whispered. "Come on," He nodded.

I took a deep breath, and then made my feet move forwards as we followed Sabine. We walked for a bit, and then we ended up in some sort of alley. I had to squint, but at the end of the alley, I saw a group of girls on the ground, surrounding...something. As we got closer, my stomach dropped when I identified it as a dead body, a girl not that much older than me.

Her throat was covered in dried blood, a clear, deep cut where the blood sat. This was no accident. It was a murder.

There was flowers and lit candles surrounding her body. Sitting next to the body of who I assumed was this Jane-Anne person, was a female figure shaking with her own sobs. This, I guess, is Jane-Anne's sister, Sophie. We all stood a good distance away from the mourners, out of respect.

"That's Jane-Anne?" Elijah asked. "Killed in public for anyone to find..."

"Only people that come around here are the witches," Sabine confirmed. "Now her sister has come to take her body. Her spirit can't rest until it's been properly interred in the cemetery."

"That's disgusting," I couldn't help but say. "I mean, not about the spirit thing. But about who killed her. Who could do something like that?"

Elijah turned to Sabine, sorrow on his face. "Please tell me that my brother was not responsible for this."

She shook her head. "No. Jane-Anne died because she got caught doing magic."

"What do you mean, 'caught'?" I asked. "Aren't witches _known_ for doing magic?" I've been awake for less than a few days and already down is up and up is down.

There was a whistle, and everyone turned their heads to the direction of the noise. Sabine slightly panicked. "You wanna know who killed Jane-Anne?" She questioned. "You're about to get your first glimpse of Marcel in action."

"The _vampire_ Marcel?" Elijah asked incredously.

"Things have changed since your family left town," Sabine told Elijah quickly. "_Marcel_ has changed."

A slamming sound alerted me to a person jumping on top of a truck, and I gasped as I shrank into Elijah's side. A woman jumped from a rooftop onto the ground, and another man jumped from a terrace onto the ground, joining where the woman was.

"I'm asking you, _stay hidden_," Sabine demanded. "If Marcel finds out that a witch had led the Originals back in town then my people will be slaughtered."

Without warning, Elijah put his hand on my mouth, and used vampire speed to lift us up on to the terrace where one of the other vampires had jumped off of. I didn't even have time to protest. He didn't take his hand off of my mouth, though, but he also wrapped his other arm around my chest, hugging me to his chest in protection.

I had to squint _again_, but I could finally make out a dark skinned man walked over to the witches that were on the ground, a group of people behind him. This must be that Marcel guy, whoever he was. It seemed like Elijah knew him.

"Well, well, well," Marcel said, walking over to them. "What have we here? I gotta say, Soph, this street is not the safest corner for your family tonight."

Sophie stood up as Marcel kept talking. "Not half an hour ago we had to teach your sister a little lesson."

"We're putting her to rest, Marcel," Sophie explained, tears staining her face. "Just leave us alone."

"I never said you could move the body," He said. Louder, he said, "As a matter of fact, we're here for a reason, to send a message." Louder again, he continued, "If anybody is thinking of joining some kind of rebellion, my rules state that witches can't practice magic in the Quarter. And yet, a little birdie told me that Jane-Anne was cooking up something magically delicious."

I peeked over at my shoulder at Elijah, who didn't have a particular expression on his face. I tried to decipher any sort of emotion on his face, but he was stone. I don't know if I should be scared or feel protected. I looked back at Marcel and what was going down below our feet.

"Oh yeah! While I have you, quick Q&amp;A," Marcel began. "My old friend-the hybrid, Klaus-" Elijah and I immediately both turned to each other at the mention of Klaus's name. Elijah removed his hand from my mouth and the two of us inched just a bit closer. "-He just happened to show up out of the blue asking for, of all people, Jane-Anne. Any idea why?" He finished up, letting his gaze travel over all the witches.

Sophie didn't give him the satisfaction, gritting her teeth as she said, "I don't know. Witches don't get involved in vampire business."

"Hmm. That would be pretty stupid, that's for sure," Marcel stated. He walked around Sophie so that he was standing behind her, and I could tell that she was trying not to cringe. "Tell you what. Go back to the restaurant, cook up some of that famous gumbo, and keep those tourists happy."

Marcel then pointed to his followers. "Take the body."

Sophie snapped her head in Marcel's direction. "What? No!" She protested, and when someone leaned down to grab Jane-Anne's body, she tried stopping them. The same person grabbed her, restraining her as someone else leaned down to grab her body. "Marcel!"

He held his hands out on either side of him. "I'm just going to hold on to your sister's body in case, maybe, you remember why Klaus is here."

"Marcel, please," She tried again. "Her body won't find peace!"

Marcel turned around to walk away. "Not my problem!" He sang as he and his lackies followed. Then the witches departed, some of them even being semi-attacked by the vampires.

Once he was far away enough, I turned to Elijah. "When you and Sabine were talking about Marcel...you guys were talking like you knew who Marcel was."

"That's because I did," He revealed.

My eyebrows shot up. "Are you telling me that a polite guy like you was friends with a twat like that?" I asked, pointing in Marcel's direction.

"Well, he wasn't like that when I knew him," Elijah told me. "Sabine was right. He's changed."

"Okay," I started. "What's our next move?"

Elijah finally showed me some sort of emotion, giving me a look of surprise. "_Our_ next move?"

I lifted a shoulder. "Yeah, _our_ next move. You're the only person that I think I might be able to trust here, I don't have a phone, nor do I have enough money to get back home. And if I'm here, it's obviously for a good reason. What do we do next?"

* * *

Turned out that Elijah needed to make a phone call. We were just walking down the street as he called someone named Rebekah. Whom, after asking, I found out was his sister, whom I was rather close with.

After some explanation, I zoned back into Elijah's conversation. "Quite. It seems our brother has walked himself into a war zone. And I haven't been able to find him. Marcel, who Klaus sired, and brought up beneath his own wing, now rules a menagerie of savage vampires running wild, killing in public for any human to come upon. Witches are held in subjugation. I doubt Niklaus had any idea what he was walking into."

Rebekah said something on the other line, which prompted Elijah to sigh his sister's name in an exasperated tone. And then he said, "Always and forever, Rebekah, that is what we once swore to each other."

Eventually, I just leaned my ear on the other side of Elijah's phone so that I could listen to their conversation properly. "Consider this me calling take-backs."

"Well, you've called take-backs dozens of times over the centuries and yet when our father found us and chased us from this very city..."

"I may be old, Elijah, but I'm hardly senile," Rebekah said. "I know very well I stuck with Klaus, and not three years later he stuck a silver dagger in my chest and sent me into a magical slumber for ninety years." Whoa, who was I hanging around us? "Do you know why? Because I had the audacity to try and live my life on my own without him."

"Enough," Elijah said, and by the tone in his voice I could tell he was almost done with the conversation. I stepped back down as he said, "I believe our brother's in trouble, so whatever is going on between Marcel and the witches, it's dire enough that they'd risk bringing an Original back to town. The witches have lured him here, I'd like to know why." And with that, he hung up. And then he just stared at me for a couple seconds.

"Now what?" I asked, looping my hands through my backpack straps.

Elijah put a finger to his lips, seemingly deep in thought. Then, he gently grabbed my hand wordlessly, dragging me off.

"Okay, then," I said, following behind him. We got more into town, where the restaurants and shops were. Elijah led me into a restaurant, and pulled out some money from his suit pocket. "Here, you must be hungry."

The smell of all the different foods around me was just what I needed to jump start my appetite. "Starving, actually. But what about you?"

He didn't answer my question. "Juliet, you need to stay right here," Elijah said, pointing down at the ground. "I'm going to go see if I can find some stuff out, and it might get ugly. I don't want you getting hurt. So, just stay here. Eat something. I'll be back in a couple of hours, tops, and then we'll find a hotel for the night. Don't, under any circumstance, leave this place, understand?"

I looked in his insistent eyes and slowly nodded. I took the money out of his hands. "Perfectly. You go do your vampire thing, I'll be right here."

Elijah gave my hand a quick squeeze before turning around and leaving. I felt the ghost of his hand in mine, but I quickly brushed the feeling off before turning around to order something. I got some food, but while it was cooking, I decided that I _really_ had to pee.

I went into the bathroom and quickly did my business before leaving the stall to wash my hands. I turned the tap on and began lathering my hands. When I looked back up into the mirror, I jumped at what I saw.

It was another woman.

I spun around on my heels, my hand going to my heart. "Sorry, you just gave me a real scare."

She just tilted her head at me, before shoving her hand right in my direction. I had no idea what that was supposed to do, but a couple seconds later, suddenly, all I could see was black. I started panicking, shoving my hands out to try and find some sort of stability. And then I felt a damp cloth go to my mouth, and I accidentally inhaled the substance on it before I could hold my breath. Within seconds I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness, and after a couple more seconds, I was knocked right out.

* * *

For the next hour or so (I didn't even know) I was slipping in and out of consciousness. Whenever I slipped in, I could catch glimpses of women (who I assumed were witches) performing some sort of weird ass rituals. I would then try to fight, which would cause me to be put under again. But I finally woke up in a cemetery and was immediately creeped out. How long had I been out? Where was Elijah? Had he noticed that I had gone missing?

I rubbed my head as I saw a few of the witches from before walk over to me. "What's going on?" I croaked, but I didn't get an answer as two of them grabbed each one of my arms, lifting me up off of the ground. At first I was too groggy to do anything, but once I started rounding a corner, I tore one of my arms away from one of the witches. "Hey! Paws off, got it?"

I turned my head so that I was looking straight again, and I was faced with Elijah. And let me tell you, I had't been more happy to see anyone in my life. He completely had my trust now. "Elijah! I'm so sorry I left the restaurant! But technically, these _freaks,_" At that word, I pulled my other arm away out of the other witch's grasp. "Kidnapped me from the woman's bathroom."

"Juliet," He breathed, and that was all that he could say. I looked at the woman who was standing next to him, and I recognized her as Sophie, the girl who's sister Marcel killed. Elijah turned his head in her direction before saying, "Give us a moment alone."

The witches led us into a weird looking room that was entirely lit with candles.

"What's going on?" I asked him when we got there. He had his back to me as I kept talking. "Those creepy witches kidnapped me from the bathroom, and then knocked me out with their ju-ju or drugs or whatever and then did some sort of weird ass-I swear to God _satanic_-rituals on me."

"Juliet," Elijah started, finally turning around to face me. "Have you been feeling ill lately?"

"Ill?" I repeated, a bit confused.

"Like sick, nauseous," Elijah offered.

"Elijah I might not be British but I _do_ know what ill means. And, no, not that I've noticed. Why?" I asked.

"Have you been vomiting recently? Felt dizzy, tired?" He kept going.

"Well, I mean I threw up a bit earlier, but other than that I've been okay. And I've been in a coma for a month, if I've been vomiting or dizzy or tired, I'm not sure that I've noticed." I crossed my arms. "What is with the twenty questions? Do you know why those witch-bitches kidnapped me or no?"

Elijah sucked in a deep breath. "Juliet, I think you need to be sitting down."

"Why?" I asked as he took each of my arms and guided me to the bench thing in the middle of the room.

"I just want you to sit down," He supplied as he pushed me down onto the bench. He sat down next to me, and we sat in silence as he fiddled with his hands for a minute before he said, "You trust me, don't you, Juliet?"

I nodded without thinking. "Of course I do."

He positioned his body so that he was completely facing me. "Then you'll trust me when I tell you something serious, won't you?"

"Elijah," I said, putting my hand on his, again, without thinking. But I couldn't bring myself to pull my hand away. "What do you need to tell me? Are you okay? Are you, I don't know, sick? Do vampires get sick?"

"This isn't about me," Elijah told me hesitantly. "It's about you."

"_I'm_ sick?" I questioned, pointing at myself. "Because let me assure you, despite that one vomiting incident earlier, I've been feeling right as rain."

"It's not really something you'd notice right away," Elijah said gently. He took both my hands in his, and the look of seriousness on his face was enough to send me heart into a worried hyper drive. "Juliet, you are expecting."

"Expecting what?" I asked him. "A package? My dinner? Because I feel kind of bad, making that chef cook all that food and not paying..."

"Juliet," Elijah tried again. "You are expecting a child."

And it was like someone smacked me in the face with a brick.

I could feel my stomach drop all the way down to my feet. And then my jaw followed suit. "I'm expecting a _what_?"

"You're pregnant," He reworded.

I was _what?_

"That's impossible," I said, immediately shaking my head. "I haven't had sex in a long time! I've been in a coma for _a month_!"

"Your child was conceived before your accident," Elijah informed me.

Tears of dread started forming in my eyes. I couldn't be pregnant! That wasn't possible! "Oh my God!" I gasped, and then something more important crossed my mind. "Who's my child's father?"

Elijah swallowed a lump in his throat, hesitating.

"Elijah, _tell me_," I growled through gritted teeth.

He hesitated a couple more seconds before finally giving into my menacing glare. "It is my brother, Niklaus. Or, you know him as Klaus."

And if it was possible for my stomach to drop all the way into the bottoms of the Earth, it would have. "Klaus! Are you kidding? I don't know the guy at all! I just woke up from my coma and there he was!"

"Wait, you know where Niklaus is?" He asked me.

I pulled my hands away from him and put them to my forehead. "I don't remember where he is! I just knew that I had to get the hell out of there." I stood up and started pacing. "So not only am I pregnant, but I have no idea who the guy is, _or_ his connection to me!"

"Juliet!" Elijah said, standing up to grab my arms, cutting my pacing short. "Relax. This stress isn't good for your child."

I took a deep breath and hesitantly put my hands to my stomach, where the same bulge was from before. And I thought that I was just getting fat! "You're right. You're absolutely right. But Elijah, not knowing anything about the father of my child isn't good for me _or_ my child. Klaus as far as I could tell was a vampire. Vampires can't procreate! Or, at least that's what I've read in books. And no offence," I sort of gestured towards Elijah. "But I have no idea who you are, either. I must have met you in the two years that my memories have conveniently dropped."

"And yet you trusted me," Elijah commented.

That caused me to slightly flush. I looked down at my toes as I shuffled my feet slightly. "That's because you knew a lot about me, the kind of stuff that a normal stranger on the street saving a girl from falling on her face would know."

"Right," Elijah said, gently taking my arm and sitting me down again.

"How do the witches know I'm pregnant?" I asked him. "I just got out of the hotel today."

"They were able to get into wherever you were-without my brother's knowledge, I presume-and did a few spells. But, forget that right not. I'll tell you my family's history. But, that'll probably take a while. So instead, I'll show you."

"Show me? Show me how?" I asked him, and as I asked, he putting each of his hands on one of my temples. I tensed, and I guess he could feel it. "You trust me, don't you?"

I fought against my tension and let myself relax as I slightly nodded. "Yes, I trust you."

He smiled gently. "Then I am going to show you flashes of my family's past."

He positioned his fingers on my temples again, and his eyes closed as I let mine flutter shut.

"In the beginning, our family was human..." Elijah started. "A thousand years ago, now."

And then something incredible happened. I could see Elijah's memories.

It was like watching it on a television screen, only better. I kept my attention on the pictures. There was a blonde woman (whom I had to assume was Rebekah, because Elijah mentioned that he only had one sister), and a little brown haired boy.

_"Come, Henrik. Our brothers are fighting again!" Rebekah, and the little boy-Henrik followed her._

"Although our mother dabbled in the dark arts, we were actually just a family trying to survive in a time where it was quite difficult to do so," Elijah continued as I watched Elijah and Klaus sword fight (note to self-if Elijah and Klaus try to grow their hair long again, cut it right off). "And, for better or worse, we were happy." I could hear the tone in his voice dramatically change. "That is, however, until one night, our youngest brother was killed by our village's greatest threat."

My heart ached for Elijah's loss. I'd lost a lot of people in my life too. My birth parents and my adoptive parents. When I lost my adoptive parents, I was just grateful that my sister, Elena, was spared. I wonder how she was doing and where she thought I was...

My mind got plunged into more memories.

_Klaus was carrying Henrik's body back to what I assumed was their home._

_ "Mother!" He shouted, sinking to his knees._

"Men that could transform themselves into wolves during the full moon. Our family was devastated, none more than Niklaus. Desperate to protect the rest of us, our father forced our mother to call upon her black magic in order to make us stronger," He continued. The images I saw next were especially vivid.

_Mikael, Elijah's father, was holding the bleeding arm of a human in front of Rebekah. "Drink!" He commanded, and Rebekah had no choice but to comply._

"Thus, the first vampires were born," Elijah explained. "But with this speed, this immortality, came a terrible hunger. No one felt this hunger more than Niklaus."

_ Klaus is feeding off of a human, and feeds until the point of the person's death. Klaus lets them drop to the ground, and suddenly, his back leg cracked at an ungodly angle, and he screamed in horrible pain._

I actually gasped out loud at Klaus's pain, and my hands went to Elijah's arms to steady myself.

_Klaus continued to scream as his bones continued to crack._

_ "Niklaus!" Elijah screamed for his brother, running towards him._

_ "What is happening to me?" Klaus wondered._

_ Elijah madea move to help his brother, but Mikael grabbed his son and pulled him away from Klaus._

_ "Father, it hurts!" Klaus groaned. He lowered his head, and at the last second, it snapped up, revealing his eyes to be a yellow colour._

_ "He's a beast," Mikael spat. "He's an abomination."_

"He wasn't just a vampire," Elijah said, and I felt him remove his fingers from my temples. I opened my eyes, and then remembered that my hands were on his arms, so I quickly took them off.

"He was also a werewolf," I deduced. Wow, I knew how to pick them, didn't I?

"Yes," Elijah confirmed.

"But how did your family not figure out that Klaus was a werewolf sooner?" I asked him. I think I would have noticed if my kid turned into a werewolf at night.

"See, the werewolf curse works like this," Elijah started. "Once a werewolf takes a life, that triggers the curse. And when Niklaus drank the human to death..."

"That triggered his curse," I finished.

"Niklaus was the result of an indiscretion our mother had hidden from us all. An affair, with a werewolf," Elijah told me.

"I figured out that much."

More images entered my mind, replacing Elijah's face with his mother's, who appeared to be standing in front of a fire and casting a spell.

"Infuriated by this betrayal, my father forced our mother to cast a spell that would suppress Klaus's werewolf side, denying him any connection with his true self."

_Mikael was bounding a struggling Klaus on to a wooden cross as Elijah watched on. "Elijah! Elijah, hold him down!" His father commanded. _

_ "Brother, please!" Klaus protested. "Don't let them do this to me!"_

_ "Do it now, boy! Now!" Mikael demanded, and then Elijah finally helped to hold down his brother._

_ "Help me!" Klaus begged._

"No offence," I started, crossing my legs. "But your dad was kind of a douche."

Elijah lightly chuckled before he went serious again. "I know you must have heard a lot about Niklaus since you have woken up from your coma."

I hadn't heard anything, but I was scared of him. I just had this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that was telling me to run away.

"I cannot excuse Niklaus's behaviour," Elijah said, standing up. "But you must understand, when our father hunted him-hunted us-for centuries, every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee. Even here, in New Orleans, where we were happiest of all. Not long after Niklaus broke the spell which prevented him from becoming a hybrid, he defeated our father. Do you remember that?"

I shook my head. I tried racking my brain as hard as I could, but nothing was coming up.

"I thought this would make him happy," Elijah continued with a shake of his head. "He was angrier than ever. I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness. A way to save him from himself." He turned to face me, and my hand automatically went to my stomach. "Juliet, you have no idea how much you have had an impact on him. Other than my family, I have never seen anyone brave enough to stand up to Niklaus. You were good for him."

I was about to ask in what way, but the door to the vault place opens, and Sophie walks in. "I'm glad you feel that way, because we need your help."

"What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with this young woman?" Elijah asked, nodding his head to me.

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming."

Elijah gave her a look. "Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do."

"That's why I brought you here," Sophie clarified. "Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighbourhood? Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family."

Elijah smirked. "That sounds remarkably like blackmail."

"Like I said, I'm desperate," Sophie went on.

"Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?" Elijah said.

Sophie led the two of us out of the vault, and Elijah told me that he had to leave again for a bit. I told him that the last time that he left I got kidnapped, but he was eventually able to convince me that the witches would be able to protect me, so long as I stayed here. Then I made him promise me that he'd come back, and he gave me his word.

So when he left, I went and sat by myself in a corner, rubbing my stomach gently with two hands. Was it really possible that little old me created so much trouble? It wasn't really my fault, though! I never thought that vampires could procreate-and I guess we just never thought about the guy's werewolf side.

Eventually, Elijah did come back, but with the person that I had been specifically trying to avoid. The person that I _ran away _from.

"Klaus," I breathed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. "I thought you were in the bathroom."

I gave him a look. "Did you really think that I was in the bathroom for that long?"

"Well, you take unnecessarily long in the shower," Klaus said as he crossed his arms. "I just thought that that was why you were in the bathroom for so long."

I _did _do that. It was a habit I developed after my adoptive parents died. I'd just sit in the shower for hours on end, just thinking about life, what kind of life I had, what life I wanted, what life my parents would have wanted.

"He's all yours," Elijah told Sophie, interrupting Klaus and I. "Proceed."

"You know you're famous in this town?" Sophie started. "Witches tell bedtime stories about the powerful vampire Klaus. We knew Marcel was nothing but an orphan street rat until you made him what he is, and how he's out of control. He does what he wants, kills whom he wants. I'm gonna stop him and you're gonna help me," She demanded of Klaus.

"That's why you brought me here?" Klaus asked Elijah, turning to face his brother.

"Hear her out, brother," Elijah said.

"I don't need to hear her out," Klaus protested. "I can assure you there's nothing on this earth that matters enough for me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time." He turned to his brother as more witches came into view. "Elijah, what madness is this?"

"You need to listen to us," Sophie pleaded. "Marcel may be able to prevent us from practising real magic in this town, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new." And with that, Sophie's eyes landed on me.

My hands itched to go to my stomach, but I stopped myself, firmly clasping my hands and putting them behind my back.

"For example, I have a special gift. Of sensing when a girl is a pregnant," Sophie continued, keeping her gaze directly on me.

Okay, no offence to Sophie, but _really?_ A gift of sensing when a girl was pregnant? What kind of gift was that?

I didn't break my stare with Klaus as the realization slowly dawned on him. "What?" He breathed.

"Look, I know just as much as you do that this is impossible," I started slowly.

"What are you saying?" He asked.

"Niklaus," Elijah said, and Klaus turned his head to face his brother. "The girl is carrying your child."

"No," Klaus immediately started saying. "That's impossible. Vampires cannot procreate!"

"But werewolves can," Sophie told him. "Magic made you a vampire but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original _Hybrid_, the first of your kind and this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes."

Angrily, Klaus turned towards me, a look of...something in his eyes. Hurt? Betrayal? He stormed towards me. "You've been with someone else, admit it!" He roughly grabbed my arm.

I winced at the pain, but I ripped my arm out of his grip, and Elijah pushed him away from me. I growled at the guy, my hand going to my arm. I could feel the welts turning into bruises. "First, paws off, wolf boy. Second, I was in a god damn _coma_ for _a freaking month__!_ No way could I have been with someone else. Also, this is way too much drama for me. If I didn't think it was your kid, I would have told the truth already and booked the next flight out of here."

"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy," Sophie started, and my stomach dropped. Jane-Anne Deveraux was dead because of...because of _me?_ "Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us."

_ Oh, isn't that fabulous? _I thought to myself as I wrapped my arms around myself.

"If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Juliet won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress," Sophie threatened.

"Wait, what?" I asked, my stomach dropping to my feet. Was she threatening me?

"Enough of this," Elijah intervened. "If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself."

"No. We can't," Sophie said. "Not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules."

Klaus, who has had his back to us for the last bit of what Sophie was saying, turned around and said, "How dare you command me?" He raised his voice as he shouted. "Threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive will be my weakness? I won't hear any more lies." He pushed past me to leave, but was stopped by the sound of Elijah's voice.

"Niklaus! Listen," He said.

Slowly, Klaus turned his head towards me, a look I couldn't quite decipher on his face. Then, he looks to Elijah and the other witches. "Kill her, and the baby. What do I care?"

I think I should feel offended, but I didn't care. When the words "Kill her and the baby" left Klaus's mouth, I wasn't worried about them killing me-I was worried about them killing my baby. Because suddenly, it wasn't just me I was eating for, or staying healthy for. It was my unborn child. And that brought a fire of determination to course through my veins. I didn't need him to protect me and my baby. I didn't need Klaus at all. His part was already done.

After one last, hard glare, Klaus turned around and left. I just stood frozen in my spot, unsure of what to do next. Luckily, Elijah was there for me. "No one touches the girl," He said, pointing at me. "I'll fix this."

"Be careful," I said to him before I could lose my nerve.

He gave me a slight smile. "I can handle my brother. Just stay here, and stay out of trouble."

Elijah then left, and I had to wait again for him to come back. Conversation between the witches began, but it was only slight whispers, so I didn't bother trying to listen in.

That is, until Sophie and another witch started speaking louder. "Marcel and his vampires are out of control," Sophie said. "Something had to be done."

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" The other witch asked.

"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes," Sophie informed her. "They're the Originals."

"What makes you think you can control the hybrid?" Agnes asked Sophie, and Elijah suddenly appears, leaning on the wall. I got up from off of the ground and half walked, half ran over to him.

"She can't. I'm not entirely certain that I can, either," Elijah revealed once I got there. "But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question. What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?"

Sophie walked over to a box, grabbing something made out of needles. She pulled one out, holding it up in front of Elijah. And then punctured her hand with the needle.

I was about to ask her if she was crazy, but I was stopped by the sudden sharp pain in my hand. "Ow!" I muttered, pulling my hand up in front of my face. I was shocked to see a bit of blood oozing out of a small puncture in my hand, identical to the one that Sophie just gave herself. "What the hell did you just do?"

Sophie held up her hand to face Elijah. "The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Juliet. So anything that happens to me, happens to her," She pointed directly at me, and I curled my hand into my chest, cradling it with my other hand. "So her life rests in my hands. Klaus has may not care about his own child, but it's very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Juliet-or _worse_-to ensure that I have your attention, I will."

Elijah smirked at her audacity. "You would dare threaten an Original?"

Not losing her nerve, Sophie said in stony voice, "I have nothing to lose."

"Listen, sorry to interrupt," I butted in. "But _I_ have a lot to lose. Like my life."

Sophie ignored me as she said to Elijah, "You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind."

* * *

Elijah left _again,_ and again, I sat by myself, hugging my knees to my chest. I was starting to get a bit dizzy, and really tired because of my lack of energy. I hadn't eaten in a few hours, and after all the excitement, I was physically drained.

Suddenly, the large church bell tolled. I turned my head to the sound of it.

"His time is up," Agnes said. "What're you gonna do now, Sophie?"

"I'm gonna do what I said was gonna do," Sophie said, looking directly at me.

"What, kill the girl? Kill yourself?" Sabine asked.

"Wait," I said, scrambling to stand up. "We can't kill the girl! The girl has done nothing wrong!" I pleaded. "Just give Elijah a bit more time! He'll do what he has to!"

"We gave him time," Agnes growled. "Besides, Klaus does not care about you, nor your child."

Elijah suddenly appeared in the mausoleum, carrying something large wrapped in a tarp. "I do," He informed them, walking into the mausoleum.

I sighed in relief. "That was close," I murmured to myself.

"And I bring proof of my intent to help you," Elijah said, putting the thing he was holding in his arms down. "The body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself."

Sophie dropped to the ground, removing the tarp, revealing the face of Jane-Anne Deveraux. "Jane-Anne," Sophie softly whispered.

"May she be granted peace," Elijah said solemnly. "Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time."

"You had your time. It's passed," Agnes hissed.

"Shut up, Agnes," Sabine said offhandedly, and Agnes did so.

"For now, accept the deal. The girl and the child remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all," Elijah said. He held his hand out to me, and I quickly and graciously took it. I was ready to get the hell out of this place and went as far as hooking my arm through Elijah's. He started leading us out of the mausoleum but paused, looking over his shoulder, delivering one final sentence to the witches, "And I will help him."

* * *

Elijah brought me to a huge white house. It looked really old, and on the inside, it looked like nobody had touched it in years. I explored the house, finding an empty room. I walked inside of it and was immediately drawn to some sort of object covered in a sheet. I gently pulled it off so that the dust wouldn't come off, but it did anyways. I shut my eyes as I went into a coughing fit. I turned my head to the side, covering my mouth and waving the dust away from my face.

"Are you all right?" Elijah asked.

I nodded. "It's the dust. It looks like this place hasn't been touched in years." I looked back at the object that I had uncovered, and my stomach slightly turned when I realized that it was a baby crib.

"Yes, it should serve our purposes," Elijah said. "It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you are the most important person in this family." I bit my lip to stop my smile, staring at my toes. "You need a good home. And Juliet?"

I forced myself to look back up at Elijah. "Yeah?"

"How do you feel about all of this?" Elijah asked. "I know, I've been all over the place since you found out you were pregnant, and you haven't had a real chance to talk with anybody about it yet."

I thought for a second. "Other than being pregnant with a homicidal hybrid's kid, okay."

Elijah smiled gently at my attempt at a joke. "I meant about being a mother."

Mother. I knew the word pretty well. I looked back down to my toes. "Well, I'm adopted. I wish I had gotten to know my birth mother. I wish I had the chance to learn whatever she had to teach me. But that woman...she was nothing but a dream to me. She died when I was a toddler. I can't even remember her singing me to sleep, or reading me a book. I have heard some things about her, but I've never had a connection with her." I looked back up at Elijah. "Because that woman wasn't my mother. Miranda Gilbert was. She was the one to sing me to sleep, or hold me when I got scared. She made me eat my vegetables, and do my homework. As far as mothers go, she was an amazing one. I mean, she wasn't perfect, but she tried doing the best she could," I said, smiling at the thought of my adoptive mother. But my smile faded. "And then I lost her too. I'm scared, Elijah," I told him with a slight hysterical laugh. "I'm scared, because I always lose the mother figures that I have. When Miranda died, I thought that it was the Universe telling me that I didn't deserve a mother. The things that a mother could do was robbed from me _twice_. I know the image of a mother, but I don't see myself as one. I'm always in danger. The people around me get hurt. I wouldn't wish that on my own child. If I had to, I'd send her away. I'm dangerous, Elijah. If it came down to it, I'd probably not be able to protect my own child."

"You're strong, Juliet Gilbert," Elijah assured me. "And even if you don't believe it, you can count on me when I say that I will always protect you. You have my word on that."

I smiled at Elijah in thanks as I explored the room a bit more. I ended up in front of a full length mirror, and I couldn't help but stare at the bulge in my stomach.

There was _really_ a baby in there, huh? I gently raised my hands and rested them on top of the bump on my stomach that was going to get bigger and bigger by the day. This was a supernatural pregnancy, so I had no idea if the process was going to be quicker, or harder, or crazier.

All I knew was that I was ready for it.

* * *

**TBC...**

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**I worked on this chapter all freaking week! I hope you all really like it!**

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	3. House of the Rising Son

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long gap! But to make up for it, it's a long chapter!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He's gone.

I don't know where, and I don't know why. All I know is that Elijah Mikaelson is gone.

With nowhere to go, witches keeping me tied to New Orleans, and no protection at all, I was forced to consider moving in with Klaus. He said that he wanted to kill me and my baby, but then said that he'd protect me.

The man is more confusing than the movie Inception.

But then I met a friend. Someone who I apparently knew.

It was a couple weeks or so after I had given up any hope of Elijah's return, and I was glumly eating breakfast in a restaurant when I heard someone call my name.

"Juliet? Juliet Gilbert?"

I turned my head to see a tall, brunette woman. "Oh my God, it _is_ you. What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast?" I said, like a question. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The girl scrunches up her eyebrows, sitting down in the chair across from me. "You don't know me?"

I shake my head. "I'm sorry. Judging by the way that you reacted to me, it's not so much that I don't _know_ you, it's that I don't _remember_ you."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

I waved my hand in dismissal. "It's a really long story that even _I_ don't know a lot about, but the point is, I lost the last two years of my memories, which I assume is when I met you. What's your name?"

"I'm Hayley," She said. "Hayley Marshall? Ring a bell?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, no." I turned my head down to look at my plate, stabbing my eggs with a fork before shovelling it into my mouth.

"Why does it look like you're about to kill your eggs?" Hayley asked.

I sighed, looking up. "We're friends, right?"

Hayley shrugs. "I guess."

"Can I tell you something that won't make you run for the hills-or worse, my family?" I asked.

She nods. "Of course."

I took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Hayley's jaw drops. "You're what?"

"I'm pregnant. With this guy named Klaus's kid. And I'm terrified because Klaus wanted me and my baby dead, now it seems like he doesn't, my life is tied to a witch that is not afraid to kill me to get Klaus to do whatever she wants, and the person who has sworn to protect me has suddenly dipped out, leaving me alone with an entire city of vampire, werewolves, witches, and everything in between to deal with," I spilled out. I don't know what even happened! I just started and I couldn't stop. Assuming that Hayley even knew who Klaus _was_.

Poor Hayley. She looks like I had just dropped the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. She gulps, before slowly nodding. "Okay. There's one thing that I _can_ help you with."

I perk up slightly. "And that is?"

"I'll protect you," She offered.

"Hayley, I can't let you do that," I said.

"Why not?"

"Because I barely know you!"

"You're pregnant with the child of a man that you barely know!"

"Point taken. But Hayley, what if something happens to you while trying to protect me? That'll end badly for the both of us," I said. It was really sweet for Hayley to offer herself up like this, but I feel too bad asking her to do so.

"Listen, I'm a werewolf. I can take care of anybody. Besides," She slides out from the side of the booth she was in to sit next to me, nudging me with her shoulder. "You're my friend, and you helped me help Tyler break the hybrid's sirebonds."

"Why did I do that?" I asked. It's weird, not knowing what people are talking about.

"Because you are friends with Tyler Lockwood, and you're the only person that Klaus won't touch," She said.

"Then why did he seem so angry when I told him that I was pregnant?" I asked, though the question was mainly directed to myself. "He was so sure that I had been with somebody else. Which is delusional, by the way. He was so...upset?"

Hayley checks her watch. "To make this quick, you and him were kind of a thing. Like, a relationship thing."

My jaw drops. "We were in a what?"

"Listen, I have some stuff that I still have to get done. I'll bring over dinner and then we can talk about it, okay?" She said.

"Do you know where I'm staying?" I asked.

"Come to think of it, no," She said with a smile.

I quickly write down the address for her, and Hayley promises to come around five or six pm. That leaves me a very long day to fill.

I filled that very long day with sleep, food, and television. Mainly food though. They weren't exactly _cravings_, more like 'I just want to eat everything and anything in sight'.

Which is why when a knock at the door woke me out of my slumber at six thirty, I wasn't all that surprised to see food wrappers all around me. I just hope that Elijah doesn't get mad at me for making a mess of his house.

Hold the phone..._he's_ the one that deserted _me. _I'll mess up his house if I wanted to!

There was another knock at the door, and I pushed the small blanket off of me as I made my way over to the door. I open the door, and Hayley is on the other side, bags of food on her arms. And a couple of suitcases behind her.

"I didn't know what you wanted to eat," Hayley said as she walked into the house. "So I just brought a bit of everything. And seeing as how you're pregnant, there won't be any food that's going to waste."

I stepped outside to group her bags, but she tutted as she ran after me. "Don't!"

"Why not?" I asked as she reached down and grabbed her own suitcase.

"Because you're pregnant, and I don't want you lifting anything. Especially heavy things," Hayley answered, walking back into the house.

"I'm pregnant, not five years old," I said as I stepped back into the house. Hayley left her bags by the door as she admired the house. "There's lots of rooms in this place. Pick any."

"Alright," Hayley nodded, and then the two of us made it to the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?"

"Can I ask you something?" I said, completely turning the conversation. I sat down on one of the chairs that was behind the island table.

She nods, taking out a Chinese container. "Anything."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "Again, you barely know me."

Hayley sighed as she put some bread into the fridge. "I am doing this because this is the kind of thing that you would do for a friend," She answered, walking around the island table, before sitting down in the chair next to me. "And despite this being Klaus's kid, I think it's going to be the cutest baby ever."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"No, really. Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't stepped up," I said, and before I knew it, tears were filling my eyes. I lurched forward and grabbed Hayley into a hug.

"Whoa," She said, but she hugged me back. "Hormones going haywire already?"

"Yup."

* * *

Two months later, Hayley and I have been living quite comfortably. Although, Klaus did live in the house, too. I always made sure to try and avoid him, but sometimes we'd run into each other. Most of the time, Klaus just acted like I was a nuisance, but sometimes I would catch him looking at me, almost with a sense of longing on his face.

Whatever, I don't like worrying about Klaus. Not since he said to kill me and my baby.

Klaus told me that I could never leave the house. I didn't want him controlling my life, but the way he told me had so much emotion that I didn't argue. So my days consisted of Television, internet, and Hayley, who Klaus also condemmed to the house if she wanted to stay.

We've become better friends. She's filled me in on the stuff I don't remember, like the Immortal being Silas terrorizing us in order to get the Cure for vampirism. She doesn't know why Silas wanted it, though.

Hayley also convinced me to call Elena. She fought pretty hard, too.

"Come on!" She had protested. "Elena is your sister, and you are having a baby. She deserves to know!"

"But I don't want her to!" I said. "I was supposed to be the promising child! Elena basically stopped living after our parents died, Jeremy started doing drugs, and Aunt Jenna had to leave her partying life style to suddenly become a parent! I was the one keeping everything together!" I flopped onto the couch. "This just isn't the life I pictured."

"What?" Hayley asked, sitting down next to me. "Being pregnant at 19?"

"Well, yeah, that, but also being in a supernatural world," I told her. "All this stuff...it's _supposed_ to be make belief. Stuff for the movies, or stories that'll scare the pants off of your friends. Not a reality. Certainly not _my_ reality."

"That's only because you're just being introduced to it," She said. "You should have seen you before your accident. You handled all these situations like a pro. You didn't take any shit from anyone, especially not Klaus. If he yelled at you, you'd yell right back. The only reason you helped Tyler and I unsire hybrids was because you were the only person that Klaus wouldn't dare harm. You had so much power over him."

"And I lost that advantage," I said.

"Not necessarily. You're pregnant with his kid. I'm sure he's keeping you around for that," She said.

"Hayley, I already _told_ you. The only reason I'm still here is because the witches won't let me leave. I'm tied to the life of Sophie Deveraux. I couldn't leave even if I tried," I tried explaining.

"Which is why you should call your family and let them know you're safe!" She said, handing me my cell phone. "Do it right here in front of me."

"You're insane," I told her, shoving the phone back to her. "I'm not doing it."

Hayley took the phone back, but pressed a button, before putting the phone to her ear. "Hello? Elena? Yeah, it's Hayley."

"What are you doing?!" I harshly whispered, lunging for the phone.

Hayley easily kept me back with her werewolf strength. "I have Juliet here, and she wants to talk to you. Yeah. Great." She shoved the phone to my ear.

"Juliet?" Elena said.

I gave Hayley a death glare, before taking the phone. "Hey, Elena."

"Oh thank God! I haven't heard from you in two months! Are you okay?" She asked.

"Well...not exactly," I told her.

"What do you mean?"

Here goes my dignity. "I'm kind of...pregnant."

Silence on her end. Then laughter. "Juliet, I had no idea you were so funny. Now what's really wrong? Did Klaus turn you into a vampire?"

I huffed. I should have figured she'd think I was lying. "No, he didn't. And...I'm not kidding, Elena. I'm going to have a baby."

Silence on her end again. Then, "YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A _WHAT_?!" She shrieked.

I had to pull the phone away from my ear. I looked over at Hayley, and glared at her slightly. "Great idea, Hayls." I turned back to my phone call. "I know it's impossible. Long story short, nature found a loophole through Klaus's werewolf side, and that side can make kids."

"Wait, Klaus is the father?"

"Who else was it going to be?"

"I just thought because Klaus was a vampire, he couldn't have kids. But what you just said does explain a lot," Elena said, and she huffed. "Wow. A baby."

"A baby."

"How long have you known?"

"A couple months, maybe?"

"And you didn't think to call me earlier?"

"Uhh...I didn't want to say anything in case something happened and I lost the baby?" I said, but it was more of a question.

Elena sighed again, but she accepted the answer. "I guess you're right. But a baby, Jules! You can't be having a baby; _you're_ still a baby!"

"Nice to know you have a lot of faith in me."

"You have to book the next flight home."

"That's the only thing. I can't."

"And why not?"

"Because witches are keeping me here. If I so much as stepped one toe out of New Orleans, the witches would make me regret it. I don't know how, but they would."

"But _why_ are they keeping you there?"

"Long story short-_again_-the witches are trying to take down this vampire named Marcel, and they need Klaus's help for it. And since I'm pregnant with Klaus's baby, they're using me against him if he doesn't help them."

"And you're letting them?"

"I'm only letting them because I don't want to die," I said. "And I don't want my baby taken from me."

"Okay, I get why you can't come home. But I'm taking the next flight to New Orleans."

"Elena, don't," I said, starting to panic.

"And why not?"

"Because apparently, we already have a mess of a life back in Mystic Falls. Don't come here and get involved in New Orleans drama," I told her.

And this was followed by a bunch of promises that I'd call her every day and let her know how I was feeling, and the closer I got to delivering my baby is when she'd come and take care of me. I also made her promise to tell anyone. I didn't need anyone else freaking out that I was pregnant.

I hung up the phone, and handed it back to Hayley, who was smirking.

"Wipe that grin off of your face."

"What grin?"

"Hayley, you might be a werewolf, but trust me, there is nothing scarier than a severely pissed off pregnant woman."

* * *

Sleep was impossible. Okay, I might be exaggerating, but I had this worry in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong. That something was going to happen. And it _wasn't _because I was pregnant.

My bad feeling was confirmed when Hayley opened the door to my room. That must mean something's wrong, because Hayley never interrupts my naps. And I only take them because she insists on it. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," She said. "Someone just pulled into the driveway."

"Elijah?" I asked, my heart lifting slightly.

"I don't think so," She answered, and my heart plummeted. "But stay here. Don't come downstairs until I tell you. I'm gonna go check it out."

"Hayley," I tried protesting, but she had already grabbed the firepoker that was beside the fireplace in my room and was heading down the stairs.

I waited for a few minutes before I pushed myself out of bed, and tip toed over to the door. I poked my head out, and cautiously made my way to the stairs so that Hayley wouldn't see me.

When I got to the stairs, I saw her standing and talking to a blonde woman who looked familiar and who _sounded_ familiar.

Hayley's back was turned to me as I went down the stairs. The blonde woman snapped her head up, and burst into a smile when she saw me. "Juliet!" She called out in a British accent.

Hayley spun her head back, and groaned when she saw me. "You can't listen to anything, can you?"

"Nope," I answered as I made my way to the bottom of the stairs. When the woman called out my name, I could finally place her. It was the voice that I had overheard Elijah talking to a few months ago.

"You're Rebekah, right?" I asked as I made my way over to her.

She looked at me funnily, before she nodded her head. "Right, Elijah had mentioned that you had had some sort of accident and lost your memories. Yes, I'm Rebekah." She broke out into another smile before lurching forward and wrapping me into a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Whoa," I said, staggering back slightly. I shrugged it off before hugging her back. I had this feeling that I liked her. When I still had my memories.

Rebekah pulled back, still holding on to my shoulders. "As long as I'm here, I'm going to re-jog your memory about me. Trust me, I'm hardly a forgettable person."

"Well, I hope I can remember you soon!" I offered.

Rebekah smiled again, before her eyes trailed down to my stomach. "It's weird, I was expecting a magical, supernatural baby bump. I guess you're not showing yet."

"No, and thank God," I said. "It would be so hard to do things. It's _going _to be so hard to do things when you have a pregnant belly. Especially if you don't have a clue about the father."

"It's okay, I can help with that too," Rebekah offered.

She gripped my hands as she nodded her head in Hayley's direction. "If she's not the maid, then who is she?"

I turned so that I was standing beside Rebekah, and so Hayley had a clear view of her. "Rebekah, this is Hayley. She's a friend of mine who's been staying here with me. Hayley, this is Rebekah. She's Elijah and Klaus's sister."

"Okay, now that we have that out of the way," Rebekah said dismissively. She turned towards me. "Where's Elijah?"

"Actually, it's been just Hayley and me," I answered. "That's why she moved in. To help protect me-Hayley is a werewolf-since Elijah went AWOL a couple months ago and ditched me. After promising to protect me," I said, crossing my arms. I still felt a little hurt at Elijah's deceit. "And talking about family, he just...dipped. And that's when Hayley found me and said that after me helping her and Tyler her taking care of me in this predicament is the least she could do."

Rebekah looked between Hayley and I. "Juliet, we both know Elijah..." She trailed off when she realized that I _didn't_ really know Elijah, but corrected herself and kept going. "_I_ know Elijah. He wouldn't just make promises. That must mean that Niklaus has done something." She pushed past me and walked farther into the house. "Klaus! Get out here and tell me what you have done with our brother you narcissistic backstabbing wanker!"

I had to conceal my laughter at Rebekah's attitude towards her brother. I had a feeling that's usually how they speak to each other.

"Enough with all the shouting," Klaus said as he opened up a set of double doors, walking in.

The air around the two of us suddenly became so thick you could probably cut it clean through with a sword. After Hayley had informed me that Klaus and I were a couple before my accident, I had felt too uncomfortable around him. How could someone like me, who hated death and fighting and cared about _everyone_, fall in love with someone who'd kill someone at the drop of a hat?

"Little sister," Klaus said as he walked over towards Rebekah. "I should have known. I assume the six dead vampires were your doing?"

Rebekah flipped her hair over her shoulder. "They were very rude. Tried to victimize a poor, innocent girl just trying to find her way to the Quarter. So sorry, were they friends of yours?" Before Klaus could answer, she kept going. "That's right, you don't have any friends."

It was harder to contain my laugh, but I managed it. Though a small grunting noise might have escaped me.

"I do have friends," Klaus said, and I almost made a sarcastic comment. I guess Hayley could sense that I was about to, and she gently pinched my arm to keep me from doing so.

"I have Marcel, you remember him, don't you?" Klaus asked, and Rebekah stepped down a bit, looking slightly uncomfortable, but also pretty pissed.

"Yes, of course you do. He fancies himself as King of the Quarter now and he has rules about killing vampires. It'll be fun to see what kind of punishment he comes up for you."

Okay, and I thought Elena, Jeremy, and I's fights were bad.

Hayley gently tapped my shoulder. "You should get back upstairs and get some rest," She whispered.

I looked at her in disbelief. "And miss this? No way."

"I don't care about Marcel or his rules," Rebekah spat. "Elijah doesn't welsh on deals. What did you do to him?"

Huh. It hadn't struck me that Klaus could have done something to Elijah. It wouldn't exactly surprise me, with the way Klaus looked like he could have murdered Elijah the day I found out I was pregnant.

Klaus smirked, spreading his arms out. "Perhaps he's on holiday." He pointed to the ceiling. "Or taking a long, autumn nap upstairs."

Rebekah looked around the living room uncertainly. "Well go on, take a look around. You remember this house as well as I."

"I remember everything," Rebekah said as she moved farther into the house. Klaus got up and followed her, and that left Hayley and I in the front room.

She hands the firepoker back to me. "Take this back up to your room, and get some rest."

"When did you turn into my mother?"

Before Hayley could drag me up the stairs, Rebekah came back into the front room. "Juliet, Wolf Girl," She said. "I'm going to search this house inch by inch until I find out what my evil brother has done with my good brother, and you two are helping."

* * *

Rebekah led Hayley and I down a swirly flight of stairs, where I assumed a cellar was. "The Governor had lots of secret rooms," She explained as we walked. "I'll show you his favourite."

Turning on a flashlight, we came down into the cellar, where Rebekah shone the light on a bunch of caskets. Hayley eyed one of them before turning to Rebekah, "You think Klaus killed him."

"We cannot be killed, silly girl," Rebekah said sarcastically. "But that doesn't stop Klaus from trying to find ways to torture us. He has a set of mystical daggers. One in the heart sends us into a deep slumber."

"And Klaus has done this to you before?" I asked, shocked. I don't know what kind of mess of a person I have gotten involved with.

"Yup," She said. "Klaus gets his way until he decides to pull the dagger back out. That must be what he's done to Elijah."

Now I felt like a super bitch for just assuming that Elijah just up and left me. I should have known...guys who always wear suits and speak so politely can't do something like that.

Rebekah shone the light on one of the caskets, and she sighed. "That one's mine."

My eyes bugged out of my head. "He kept _you_ in one of those? _And_ he just keeps yours lying around?"

She sighed again. "I didn't realize how hard things would be without your memories. I'm going to have to fix that quickly. And about the coffin, he likes to keep them on stand by when one of his family members disappoint him."

What kind of a man was I dating?

Rebekah kept looking. "Elijah's isn't here. He must've stashed him elsewhere."

"I can't believe this," I whispered. "How did I look past this?"

"I don't know," Rebekah shrugged. "People do weird things when they're in love." She scrunched her eyebrows. "You should have run the minute Elijah was gone."

"I would have-trust me, I was ready to buy a ticket-but the witches here did some sort of voodoo ritual so that if I try to leave New Orleans, they'll kill me. My baby is too important to them."

Rebekah turned her head to the side. "I'm surprised Elena and Jeremy haven't tried staging a rescue yet."

"That's only because I forbade it," I told her. "I told Elena about me being pregnant, but then I made her swear that she wouldn't tell anybody. I already explained the witch situation to her, and I don't want to drag anyone who isn't already involved into it."

Rebekah's eyes go gentle. "Good old Juliet Gilbert. It's good to know you didn't lose your selflessness with your memories."

I could feel the beginnings of a bonding moment starting, when Hayley tapped my shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt the moment, but it's almost two AM, and preggers over here needs to get some sleep." She grabbed my shoulders to turn me around. "Goodnight, Rebekah."

"Mother of the year," I said to Rebekah, gesturing to Hayley.

* * *

I managed to wrangle up a few hours of sleep (but only because it's so freaking _hot_ in New Orleans. Someone failed to mention this), but I was awake to watch the sun come up. Lucky for me, I didn't have to work today. Also lucky for me, Hayley did, which means that I wouldn't be suffocated by her. Don't get me wrong, I love all the attention I'm getting, but it's overwhelming sometimes.

I rolled out of bed, still in my pajamas, and made my way down the stairs into the kitchen. My luck seemed to be getting better, since Klaus wasn't home either, and neither was Rebekah. I had the whole house to myself.

I made myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal, before adding a dollop of chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Don't look at me like that, the baby wants what the baby wants. Okay, I'm just weird.

I finished up my cereal, washed the dishes that I used, and made my way back up the stairs. Before I went back into my room, I decided to do a little something first.

When I was done with my secret task, I went to my room, took a shower, threw on a pink long-sleeved shirt and a beige skirt, before I went to my desk and pulling my homework out.

What? Just because I was pregnant didn't mean that I still didn't want to do college. I've just been taking a few courses online, mainly just to keep myself occupied, but also because once this Marcel business was over I was going to need _something_ to do with my life.

My nice day was effectively ruined when I got a phone call. I didn't bother checking the caller ID as I answered, which was my first mistake. "Hello?"

"You're having a baby and you didn't tell me?!" My best friend, Caroline Forbes, thundered into my phone.

And that's when I realized that was my first mistake. My second mistake was deciding that I could trust Elena with a secret. "And how are_ you_, Caroline?"

"Don't do that! Don't be sarcastic when you're going to have a baby!" She screeched.

I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear. "Caroline, you're blasting my ear drums out!"

"Elena already explained everything, and that's the only reason I haven't booked a flight yet, but still! You're having a baby! A baby! A tiny human!"

"Technically it's not human," I mumbled.

"What_ever_! I'm going to be an aunt! Aunt Caroline! It has a really nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, Aunt Caroline," I said teasingly.

"And Elena is gonna be Aunt Elena, Jeremy is going to be Uncle Jeremy, and Bonnie is gonna be Aunt Bonnie! Oh, I can't wait to tell her!"

"Caroline, don't!" I said quickly. "Who else knows?"

"Just me and Elena, but-"

"No, no buts! Don't tell anyone else, okay? This is my baby, and I'm going to break the news to everyone back home," I pleaded. "I don't want someone like Jeremy hearing it second hand."

"Okay! Okay. I'm sorry, I just got really excited when Elena told me."

"She wasn't supposed to tell you."

"She knows. She accidentally let it slip."

"I wouldn't put it past Elena to do that."

"Okay, I have to go baby clothes shopping. Text me an address in New Orleans to send it to! Bye!" Caroline said happily.

Before I could tell her not to, she hung up. I just shook my head as I put the phone face down on my desk. Typical Caroline Forbes.

* * *

I do some more homework for the next few hours, and by the end of the evening, I was desperate for a cup of tea. I went down to the kitchen to make some, but we didn't have anymore tea bags. I _would _have made coffee, but Hayley won't let me drink it, so she keeps the stuff out of the house.

Which prompts me to leave the house and walk to the nearest coffee shop.

I'll always love the New Orleans' atmosphere. If I was somewhere like Idaho, I'd be beyond pissed that the witches were keeping me stranded. I'm only a little less pissed because the city is so beautiful and exotic and the food is great.

I finally made my way to the coffee shop, and waited in line to get my tea. When I got to the front, the woman behind the counter started eyeing me very strangely. I shrugged it off, before taking my order. I stood off to the side while they make my tea. It surprisingly takes a while, but eventually the woman who was looking at me weird gave me my tea, and the chocolate chip muffin that I had ordered. I tried shrugging it off again, but the look just stayed with me.

It was pretty late, and the evening breeze felt nice, so I went and found a park bench where I could calmly sit, and munched on my muffin. I opened the lid of the tea, but as soon as I did, I smelled something...funny, in it. I swished the liquid in the cup, before bringing it back up to my nose. Yup, there was definitely something other than sugar in there. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Whatever it was, it made my stomach churn. I stood up to go and just throw it away, when I came face to face with a man. I gasped as I saw his red eyes, and the black veins that accompanied them, crawling underneath his eyes.

"Dumb move, coming into the Quarter," He said as I started backing up. "You're coming with me, wolf."

"Wolf?" I repeated. "I'm not a wolf."

He scoffed. "Yeah, the werewolf blood emitting off of you certainly says that. Now I'm done, playing around."

"Really?" I asked, my heart hammering. "'Cause I'm just getting started."

I threw the contents of the tea cup into his face, hoping to God that the boiling temperature of the liquid was enough to subdue him, but it did one greater; the water literally made his face sizzle, and he screamed as he clutched his face as he moved backwards.

I didn't know that tea had that sort of impact. Whatever, I'm taking my chance.

I turned to run, but gasped as I came face to face with two more men. And I'm out of tea.

Before I could worry, though, a blonde figure whooshed and I heard a snapping sound as the blonde broke the neck of one of the men, and a squishing sound as they ripped out the heart of the other men. They dropped dead to the ground, and I sighed in relief when I saw that it was Rebekah. But then my stomach turned at the sight of a heart in her hand.

"Now that is no way to treat a pregnant lady," Rebekah scolded the dead men. Well, I guess they weren't human. Vampires, maybe? "I do hate bad manners," She finished as she threw the heart on to the ground.

"I'm not sure what happened," I explained to Rebekah. "I was just about to drink my tea when this guy just ran up to me and tried to kidnap me."

Rebekah walked over to my tea cup, picking it up. "I don't know what was in it," I explained as she started sniffing it. "But it did the trick."

"It's poison," She said, turning to face me, and my stomach dropped. "Wolfsbane, vervain, and then plain old rat poison, probably just to finish the job."

"But I got that from a coffee shop," I said. "I barely leave the house! Who would want me dead?"

Rebekah shrugged. "And it's not like wolfsbane and vervain would finish you off, you're a human," She said, and then it seemed to hit her. Her eyes looked down to my stomach.

I instinctively wrapped my arms around me, my thoughts leveling hers. "You think someone was trying to kill my baby?"

Rebekah just looked around her, before pulling out her cell phone. She started talking in a voice too low for me to hear, and then walked over to me. "Don't worry, you and your baby are fine."

She led me back over to the bench, and had me sit down. I didn't know I was shaking until I sat down. I clutched my stomach tighter. "Another thing. The...I assume vampire, called me wolf. I'm not a werewolf. He also said that he could smell werewolf blood coming off of me."

"He was probably smelling the baby's blood," Rebekah offered.

The looks from the strange woman hit me like a ton of bricks. I buried my face in my hands. "No wonder that woman was looking at me so strangely. She must have been a vampire too, and smelled the werewolf blood."

"What? What woman?" Rebekah asked.

I looked up at her. "The woman who gave me my tea today. Before I drank it, I smelled something wrong with it. I don't know what it was, but it made my stomach hurt. I was going to throw it away when the man showed up."

The sound of a car stopped Rebekah from answering, and my poor stomach turned when I recognized who she had called to take care of the bodies.

* * *

I stood in front of the Mikaelson house with Rebekah as Klaus threw the bodies on to a pile of wood, as he was planning on burning the bodies.

Rebekah stood in front of me protectively as Klaus turned towards us. "This is why I told you never to leave the house. Werewolves are banned in the Quarter. I had a plan, and your little night time stroll put it all in peril."

I threw my arms up. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not a werewolf, so I did nothing wrong stepping into the Quarter."

"But you are pregnant with one," Klaus pointed out. "As long as that baby is in you, your blood is intertwined. You smell like a werewolf."

Rebekah stepped forward to take care of one of the living vampires, but Klaus growled, "Leave him!" In the most menacing voice I've ever heard. Surprisingly, she backed down.

"You've done enough, don't you think?" Klaus continued raging at his sister. "Leaving a trail of bodies like a road map to my door."

"If I hadn't overheard those vampires bragging about some werewolf girl, everyone here would be screwed," Rebekah said.

"But you know I'm not a werewolf," I tried throwing in again.

Rebekah turned her head back to me. "I know how fond you are of that Hayley girl. I wanted to see if it was her."

Her words send warmth through my heart. At least I have the support of one of the Mikaelson family members.

Rebekah turned back to face her brother. "And don't give me that crap about having a plan. You've had all the time in the world to execute a plan, and no one's seen you do a damn thing!" She took a deep breath. "Elijah made a deal to protect _your_ child, so it could save you from your selfish, rotten self!"

I picked the right man to be the father of my child, didn't I?

"You obviously don't give a damn about the child, or Elijah, because what have you done to honor it?" Rebekah finished.

"I have done _everything_," Klaus snarled. "Let me spell it out for you, shall I? From the day I arrived, Marcel hasn't trusted me. From day one, he's had his vampires ingest toxic vervain, which, as you know, little sister, protects them from my mind control. I needed a spy. Someone on the inside with me who Marcel would never suspect. So, I created a day zero, and got there first."

As much of a sociopath Klaus was, he was certainly a smart one, I'll give him that.

"Marcel had just lost six vampires, thanks to your little murder spree-" He continued, gesturing to Rebekah. "And he needed new recruits. So I made the new one mine, before he had even had a drop of vervain. But we all know the real way to a man is through his heart," Klaus said, and the last sentence sounded like it was directed at me. Which leads me to wonder what exactly I have done with Klaus.

I'm a little uncomfortable now, to be honest.

"So I compelled a blonde woman that Marcel fancied to follow him about," He said. After his explanation, he grabbed the neck of the vampire that was still alive. "And this one? I'm gonna drain him of vervain," He dropped him to the ground, and began dragging him across the yard. "And compel him to believe his mates found religion and moved to Utah, so that he could explain to Marcel why he lost three more vampires tonight."

Klaus kicked the door open, and I followed behind Rebekah into the house. "Does anyone have any more questions?" Klaus asked, through his arms up.

Rebekah and I didn't say a word, so Klaus continued. "Nothing? Good. Because I have a question."

He turned his attention towards me. I held my head high, sticking my chin out. I refused to be scared of Klaus. "Juliet. What were you doing in the bloody French Quarter anyways?"

I sucked in a deep breath before answering Klaus. "The day that I escaped from the hotel, I wounded up in the French Quarter, where I found Elijah, who had so graciously taken me in to protect me. He had taken me to a coffee shop there, and what do you know, I wanted tea today. That was the only shop that I knew, so I went. I'm not a werewolf, so I didn't expect this to happen. It's not like I went out and intentionally tried to poison my baby. And it's not like you gave me a bloody map of New Orleans, in fact, you basically made me your prisoner in this stupid house! And so while you ran off like you had the smartest plan in the world, and I went and tried to go about my daily life as if you hadn't ruined it!"

Throughout my little rant, I could tell Klaus getting pissed off. A little more at each thing I said. And when I got to the part where I said he had ruined my life, he snapped. For a second, it looked like my words were a slap to the face to him, but that second passed even faster than I could have imagined, and he grabbed me by the throat and threw me against the wall.

I groaned at the impact in my head, and fought through the dizziness. I also refused to look afraid. As Klaus choked the air out of me, I looked him right in the eye, refusing to give him what he wanted. Me in control.

I was already angry at Klaus before, but my anger amplified when I realized that it wasn't just my airways blocked, it was my baby's. My anger reached a boiling point, and all I could do was focus that anger on to Klaus so he could tell that I was pissed off at him.

And the strangest thing happened. My skin began to get this tingly sort of sensation, and Klaus's eye began to twitch, as if he was fighting something in his head. He started slightly grimacing, and eventually let go of my throat, groaning in pain as he clutched at his head.

As soon as he let me go, I went crashing to the ground. Also as soon as he let me go, he stopped groaning, and all the pain in his eyes seemed gone.

What the actual hell was _that_?

Rebekah helped me up as I struggled to think of something to say. We needed Elijah back-I knew that much. Rebekah could protect me, sure, but she had a weakness for Klaus. Elijah, however, didn't.

And I also knew that once upon a time, Klaus and I were in love. I don't feel that love anymore, since it's a lost love to me, but if Klaus had any shred of feelings for me left (though I don't think that he does) I could use it against him.

"Please, Klaus," I said. "I wasn't intentionally trying to kill the baby. I know that's the only reason that you're keeping me around. And Elijah wanted to protect me and this baby because he knew how much you needed it. Maybe even how much you wanted it," I said, making my voice tender, and to my surprise, it was working. "Your redemption, was the only thing that Elijah was after. He still thought you were capable of redemption. Don't betray him like this. Tell us where he is."

Dejected, Klaus sat down on the stairs, and Rebekah sat down next to him. I remained where I stood, afraid to push my luck. I couldn't help but wonder where Hayley was; she couldn't have _not_ heard the yelling.

"I gave Elijah to Marcel," Klaus said weakly.

Rebekah snapped her head in Klaus's direction. "What?"

Klaus sighed. "Marcel was nervous. Bad enough one Original returned to town, but two?..." He trailed off, and Rebekah looked ready to dagger _him _with a blade. It almost looked like the two of them had tears in their eyes but...Klaus couldn't cry, could he? I just assumed that his tear ducts stopped working.

"His men were getting antsy," Klaus continued. "He wanted Elijah gone, so I gave him a peace offering."

"You bartered our brother?!" Rebekah stormed.

"I have a plan," Klaus insisted. "Gain Marcel's trust. Dismantle his empire, honor's Elijah's wish that the baby be born. I am executing that plan the only way that I know how. If you don't like it, there's the door. See if I care." And with that, he stood up, and left the house.

I needed a breather, so I avoided Rebekah's gaze as I made my way to the washroom. I splashed some cold water on my face, as if it would wake me up from this strange reality that I was living. I also still had the tingly feeling all over me, so I was hoping to wash it off.

But nope. All it did was make my face cold. So I dried my face with a towel, went up to my room, grabbed what I was looking for, and stepped back into the front room to confront Rebekah.

However, she wasn't there. I checked the front yard, she wasn't there, but when I got to the back porch, I saw her sitting in one of the chairs. Cautiously, I made my way over to her, and sat down in the chair next to her.

It was silent for a second before Rebekah began shaking her head. "Amazing. Even when you have no idea who is he, and even when he's pissed at you, you hold so much power over him."

"So I've heard," I said, thinking back to what Elijah had told me. I was suddenly very interested in the lines in my fingers. "I don't think I have _so_ much control over him."

"But you do," Rebekah said, turning her head in my direction. "Niklaus has done a lot of bad things in his thousand years. He's done so many things without so much as a feeling of remorse, and he let no one control him. And then the day came that he met you."

I slowly lifted my head so that I was looking at Rebekah. "You have changed Nik in so many ways, ways that I didn't even think was possible for him to change."

I shook my head at this new information. So, I changed Klaus. So what? If he wanted to change, it was because he wanted to, not because of something that I did.

Okay, change the topic. "I don't get it. You speak so highly of him, yet it looks like you hate him with an intense passion."

Rebekah shrugged. "I guess when you spend a thousand years with someone, deciding to quit them is like losing a part of yourself. But sometimes the hate is just... so powerful. Emil wasn't the only boyfriend of mine that Klaus killed. He did it again, and again, and every time I found someone to care about. He just kept doing it until, finally, I stopped falling in love. He said he was protecting me from my mistakes, that no one was ever good enough for his little sister. Until one day, someone was."

"Let me ask you this. If we know Marcel has Elijah, what's stopping us from going and getting him right now?" I asked.

"I don't know about you, but I know that if I cross my brother, there's still a coffin downstairs with my name on it."

I squirmed uncomfortably. I still can't believe I did this.

I reached behind me to grab what I had gotten from my room. I unwrapped the cloth to show Rebekah the two daggers I had taken from Klaus. "I found them under your coffin, the day after you came back into town. No one was home, so I did it secretly."

Rebekah gave me a smile as I continued. "I don't think that Klaus should have any control over you. And I've been told numerous amount of times that I'm the one person that Klaus won't touch. So, here." I handed them to her. "If he finds out, I'll deal with the repercussions."

Rebekah took the two daggers, and I could see a couple of tears building up in her eyes. She leaned forward and pulled me into a hug, which I gladly returned.

It felt nice to know that my baby was going to have its Aunt Rebekah on its side.

* * *

Rebekah left for the night, and just as she did, Hayley came home. When she saw me still awake, she marched me right up to my room, and pointed at my bed.

So, I changed into my pajamas, and crawled into bed. I shut my eyes, hoping for a dreamless sleep.

It's not what I got.

* * *

_"I hadn't answered your question," Klaus brought up as we walked. "If I've ever thought about being human."_

_ He took a pause, and I looked around myself, as if he was looking for something. "Well, are you gonna answer?"_

_ Klaus smiles before saying, "Twice. The first time, I was on a trek in the Andies, and a hummingbird flew up to me. It just hovered there, staring at me. It's tiny heart was pattering like a machine gun. And I thought, what a thing, you know, to have to work that heart every day, just to stay alive. To be constantly on the verge of death." He smiled, this beautiful smile that I could have kissed all day. I automatically smiled in return. "And how satisfying it must be that it survived."_

_ "You should know that it is very satisfying," I said, and he gave a little chuckle. "I'm being serious. All around me, people die. And it's a scary thing, death. At least if you're human. The fact that you lived to see another day is something to be celebrated. And that's why I never take anything for granted. I always try being nice and showing compassion to people, because I have no idea if it's the last time I'm going to speak to them, or if it's the last time they're speaking to me."_

_ We're both quiet for a second, my words sinking in. It's true. I'll always be a human. Klaus would always be a hybrid. In reality, we'd never work. _

_ But we try to make it work. And for me, that's worth fighting for._

_ I cleared my throat. "And the other time, you thought of being human?"_

_ Klaus looked a little shy as he said, "Do you remember the other day, when you explained to me your hopes and your dreams for your life?"_

_ I nodded. "Of course."_

_ "And you said that you wanted the whole experience. The children, the holidays, the birthdays, the busy seasons and the lazy weekends. You wanted your children to run up to you covered in paint or peanut butter and get it all over everything-your desk, your work, you. You wanted to find gray hair in your husband's head, and you wanted him to find them in yours. You wanted that life," He said. "And in that moment, is when I realized that I couldn't give that life to you. I can't procreate. I can't grow old. While you age and grow gray hair, I won't. And in that fleeting moment, I considered what it'd be like if I took that Cure. We could have that life. You, me, our children. You'd have everything you've ever wanted, and that's the only thing I've ever wanted for you. I've only ever wanted you to be happy."_

_ My eyes filled with tears as my heart broke. Did Klaus really think I needed all that to be happy? I also couldn't help but feel a little course of pleasure at the thought of the second time big bad Original Hybrid Klaus Mikaelson thought of being human was to have a family with me. "Klaus. I don't need those things to have a happy life." _

_ I closed the gap between us, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Sure, kids are great, but I don't need them. The only things that I need, are my friends, my health, and you." We both leaned forward so that our foreheads were touching. "That's when I'll be truly happy."_

_ That was followed by a few short kisses, all the while Klaus mumbled that he loved me and that he didn't deserve someone like me. _

_ He pulled back, resting his forehead on mine again. "You are truly the best thing that's ever happened to me, Juliet Gilbert."_

_ I smiled, brushing my nose against his. "And you are the best thing that's ever happened to me, Klaus Mikaelson."_

* * *

My eyes flew open, and I threw myself forward with a very deep gasp. I had little beads of sweat all over my body, but I felt like I had the chills. I ran my fingers through my bed raggled hair, and a quick peek out the window revealed it to be morning. Despite my dream, I had slept through the night.

What was _that_? It couldn't have been a dream, I wouldn't dream of Klaus, at least not like that. That's not how I know him to be.

So maybe...a memory?

My gasp must have been loud enough to hear, because my door busted open. I turned, ready to tell Hayley to calm down and that I was fine, but I got the shock of a lifetime when I saw Klaus.

"Are you alright? What's happened?" He asked, walking into the room.

"Noth-nothing," I breathed, looking at him in confusion. "I just had a...a weird dream."

Klaus sighed, sittting down in the window seat that I had. It was so weird, seeing him actually worried about me.

I decided to bring it up. "Be careful, Klaus. With the way you acted, someone's gonna think that you care about me."

"Of course, I care about you, Juliet," Klaus said, and his words completely shock my body. I couldn't even _breathe_, let alone think about what he just said.

"You what?" I whispered.

He turned his head back towards me. "I _do _care about you. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well, kind of. When you found out that I was pregnant, you said to kill me, and the baby," I reminded him, though what he said totally contradicts what my mind just saw. He was willing to give up being a _hybrid_ for me.

Maybe I did have more control over him than I truly knew.

Klaus sighed. "You must understand. When I heard, I thought you had been with another man. I refused to accept any other explanation. And the thought of you being with someone else sent this weird, fire through my veins instead of blood, almost as if-"

"As if you were jealous?" I finished, a playful smile on my lips, despite the situation.

Klaus just gave me an annoyed look before continuing. "You were always part of the equation of my life. When Katerina had informed me that someone was conspiring against me in New Orleans, it was fully my intention to take my city back, with you by my side. Only you. This child was not part of the equation. Not at all."

I gulped, trying to process his words. "So what are you saying? That you want me, but not this baby?"

"I'm saying that I need time, Juliet," He said. "I'm saying that I need to take back what's rightfully mine before focusing on anything else."

I nodded. I want to sympathize with Klaus, I do. But he's not taking any responsibility, not really. I knew I was really in this wholy by myself. I was going to fight. "I understand," I said, the lie flying swiftly out of my mouth.

Klaus nodded, before gently putting his hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. He was about to leave the room when I stopped him. "This fight with Marcel doesn't make sense to me. Rebekah said you two were like family. If you don't want to take care of me, the least you can do is provide an explanation about your actions."

Klaus sighed, before turning back around. "I made Marcel everything that he is. I treated him like a son. And when my father chased me and my family from New Orleans a hundred years ago, we believed Marcel was killed – we each mourned him, in our own way. Yet, when I returned, I found not only had he survived, he had thrived. Instead of seeking us out, instead of sticking together as one, he made a choice to take everything my family had built and make it his own. Now, he is living in our home, he is sleeping in our beds. That 'M' he stamps everywhere... it's not for 'Marcel'. It's for 'Mikaelson'," Klaus explained. "I want it all back, and if I have to push him out to get it, then that's exactly what I'll do."

He turned to leave again, but I stopped him again. "Klaus?"

Klaus turned around, seeming a little impatient. "Yes?"

Now my request seems a little ridiculous. But, I've got his attention. "Uh, I don't know if vampires feel heat, but it's like a sauna in here. I don't know how I've managed to sleep so far, but this heat is killing me. Could you maybe do something about it?"

Klaus smiled gently. An actual _smile_. A genuine one. I didn't know those existed. "I'll have someone see to the air conditioning."

I couldn't help but smile back at him. He left the room, shutting the door behind him. Once he closed it, I flopped back against my bed, trying to comprehend my new situation.

I don't know if Klaus is all in with this baby business. I don't know if he's going to just be using me for my baby. I don't know anything anymore.

_You are truly the best thing that's ever happened to me, Juliet Gilbert._

Those words wouldn't stop ringing in my head. In fact, I had barely noticed my phone ringing until it nearly fell off of my bedside table because of how much it was vibrating.

I saved it before it could fall off, and saw that it was Matt Donovan calling. I answered, feeling very glad to hear the sound of my absolute best friend's voice. "Hey, Matty!"

"You're having a _baby_?" Matt cried.

I groaned, shutting my eyes. I laid back in my bed, throwing my hand over my eyes. My hand still covering my eyes, I said,

"Was it Elena or Caroline?"

* * *

**TBC...**

**What? An actual update? *gasp***

**I'm actually kind of liking the feel of this story.**

**Sorry if the whole "only reason she smells like a werewolf is because of the baby" thing doesn't make sense but it was the only thing I could think of!**

**We got some really cute stuff, and really angsty stuff, and I would love to reply to your reviews, but that will have to wait until next chapter (which hopefully won't be too long!)**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	4. Tangled Up in Blue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Look who's back?

I'm really excited for this, guys.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Jesus Elijah," I grumbled under my breath as I squinted at the book. "Could you have written _any _smaller?"

While Rebekah and Klaus argued below me and Hayley went off to work, I decided to make myself useful and explore this big mansion. I found this big chest that had some of Elijah's stuff, including pictures, a violin, and a huge book. I picked the book out of the pile, and opened it, in case there was anything interesting in it.

Turned out, there was. The book seemed to be Elijah's journal. I closed it again, and was about to put it back, but the temptation to peek inside was too good. Praying that he'd forgive me in case he ever found out, I opened up the journal, coughing at the dust particles that came off of the pages.

I began studying the words, but it was hard to decipher, mainly because Elijah wrote in size 9 font, _and_ he wrote in cursive. It took a while to get into the flow of the words, but once I did, it was much easier to read.

_August 1359._

_ I have noticed a difference in my siblings. Our bond strains beneath the pressure of our life as vampires. Each day removes them further from the humanity we once possessed. My sweet sister, Rebekah, has grown quite indifferent to brutality._

_ Isn't _that _the truth_, I thought as the memory of Rebekah ripping out the hearts of the vampires came back. Shaking it off, I kept reading.

_However, the true problem remains in my brother, Niklaus. He continues to hide his loneliness with cruelty. Still, I cling to the hope that I, as their eldest brother, can lead them down the correct path, a path charged with the power of a family united. For if I fail, our family's legacy will end in darkness._

I didn't know if Elijah was being sweet or naive. It seems really sweet that he wanted to help his siblings discover their humanity again, but it made me think he was slightly naive for it. Has he _seen_ his siblings?

I started to read on, but a tap on my shoulder stopped me. I jumped about fifty feet in the air, and I looked up to see Hayley, who was holding her hands up in surrender. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

I sighed in relief, putting my hand to my heart. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

She shrugged. "I got my shift switched with someone. I'm going to go in later tonight." She pointed to the book. "What are you reading?"

My face flushed at being caught. "Elijah's journal," I admitted, rather than going with lying.

Hayley sat on the ground next to me. "What does it say?"

I shrugged. "It dates back to 1359, and so far all he's talked about it trying to bring his siblings's humanity back."

Hayley opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by the sound of Rebekah's voice. "I cannot believe that you disposed of those vampires without me," She grumbled. "You know how I love to set things on fire."

Hayley and I both looked at each other before rolling our eyes as Klaus spoke next. "Was I supposed to leave them in the front yard to rot? Besides, they were _my_ responsibility. They attacked the helpless pregnant girl who's carrying my child."

I scoffed. "Oh, _now_ he takes responsibility."

"Oh, I am so moved by your newfound sense of fatherly duties towards your human ex-girlfriend carrying your hybrid bun in her oven," Rebekah bit back.

I rolled my eyes as I stood up. I didn't need reminding that Klaus and I used to be an item. It makes me feel like a bad person, though I didn't know why. "Let's go break it up before they draw blood."

Clutching Elijah's book to my chest, I walked over to where Klaus and Rebekah were, Hayley on my heels. "Hey, girl with the bun in her oven would like to know what the plan is," I said.

"I do too," Hayley added.

Klaus looked over to us. "Well, that depends what plan you mean, love. My plan for global domination, or Rebekah's plan to find love in a cruel, cruel world," He smirked.

Rebekah gave him a teasing grin, but quick as a flash, she grabbed the pencil that was sitting on the table next to her and threw it in Klaus's direction. He was able to easily grab it before it could pierce his skin.

"I think she's talking about the plan to rescue Elijah," Hayley offered. I had filled her in on the Elijah situation earlier today before she left for work, and she was all ready to help get him back.

"You remember Elijah, don't you?" I asked. "The good brother? The brother that is now in the possession of your mortal enemy after you stabbed him in the back."

"In the front, if we're being specific," Klaus corrected, pointing his pencil in my direction.

I scowled, fighting the anger and frustration that was slowly building up in the pit of my stomach. "Does it matter?" I asked, and then I pointed at the siblings. "You guys said that we were getting him back. What's the plan? Is there _even_ a plan?"

"Okay," Klaus gave in. He walked into the room that we were all standing beside, and sat down in one of the chairs. "Well, firstly, Marcel is _not _my mortal enemy. He's my friend. Albeit, one who is unaware that I'm trying to sabotage his hold over the supernatural community of the French Quarter, but a friend nonetheless," He finished with a smirk, putting his legs up on the table.

I rolled my eyes. "Wow, we should really give you the Friend of the Year award."

Klaus ignored my joke as he continued. "And secondly, I daggered Elijah in order to gain Marcel's trust. If I had known he would place my brother in the hands of a particularly nasty teenage witch, I certainly would have weighed my options a bit differently." Klaus turned his attention to Rebekah. "And thirdly, sister, please."

"And thirdly, the plan, as you have demanded, is for Niklaus to simply ask Marcel for Elijah back," Rebekah finished.

Hold the phone. I'm confused. That can't be it, can it?

Hayley, obviously just as confused as I was, looked from Klaus to Rebekah and asked, "That's not the whole plan, is it?"

Rebekah scoffed. "Please, Klaus may be a miserable excuse for a sibling, but there is none more diabolical."

The three of us looked back to Klaus. "And that's only Plan A, love," He told me. "There's always a Plan B."

"Care to enlighten me?" I asked, leaning against the doorway.

Klaus let a small, devlish smile cross his lips as he said, "War."

* * *

"So, what does it feel like?" Matt asked when he called later that day. "Being pregnant?"

"Uh...I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I haven't felt any cravings or morning sickness yet. Well, the morning sickness part was a lie, I've thrown up a few times, but nothing major."

"Wow," Matt said. "I still can't believe it. Our own Juliet, having a baby."

"Why does no one think I can do it?" I suddenly threw out. "I mean, raising a baby. Why do people think it's impossible?"

Poor Matt. I guess I was already feeling mood swings. I heard him stutter on the other line. "You know what? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." I huffed, sinking back into the sofa. "Mood swings. Hormones are all over the place."

Matt sighed in relief. "I haven't really been around a pregnant girl, so I don't know what to say and what not to say."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out once your wife gets pregnant," I said, and I heard the front door open. "Listen Matt, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

We hung up, and I threw my phone onto the sofa as I went over to the front hallway. "Hayley, that better be you with my lunch."

I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw that it wasn't Hayley, but Klaus, Rebekah, and Sophie Deveraux, the witch who was tying me to New Orleans.

"What is she doing here?" I asked, automatically wrapping my arms around my middle.

"Relax," Klaus said gently. "Sophie is here because we need to negotiate a deal." He turned around, and he, Rebekah, and Sophie began walking into one of the many living rooms of the house.

I followed them, and I was going to follow them into the room, when Klaus spun on his heel.

"What?" I asked.

He grabbed the door handles. "Sorry, love, this conversation is a private one." Before I could protest, he shut the door in my face.

I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. Just because he shut the door in my face doesn't mean that I wasn't going to find out what was going on in there. I pressed myself against the door, and leaned my right ear on the door, straining to listen. This is where having Hayley could come in handy with her werewolf hearing!

"Are you out of your mind?" I heard Sophie ask when I finally managed to get into a position where I could hear well enough to decipher their words. "No way."

"It's very simple," Rebekah explained. "We need you to perform a teeny, tiny locater spell to help us find our brother."

My heart lifted a little at the mention of finding Elijah. Please agree to this, witch.

"Witches who practice magic in this town get caught," Sophie said. "And they get killed."

"Yes, about that," Klaus started. "It seems you left out a crucial detail when we made our deal. Marcel's secret weapon."

Marcel had a secret weapon? Okay, I'm more interested now.

"They way he knows when a witch is using magic," Klaus continued.

"Girl about yay high," Rebekah joined in. "Cute as a button. Anger issues."

"Davina?" Sophie breathed, and I knew that she had been caught in something big.

"Where have you seen her?" She went on.

"I don't know," Rebekah said in an exasperated tone. "The little brat erased my memory right after she threw me out a window with her bloody _mind_."

"Let me cut to the chase," Klaus interrupted, obviously running low on patience. "Davina has Elijah. You witches, I assume, want to get Davina away from Marcel. We don't know where she is. Ergo, we need magic."

If Klaus was going where I thought he was going, it was a pretty brilliant plan. Where Eiljah was, Davina was going to be. Win-win.

Don't let him know that I said his plan was brilliant. I'll never live it down.

"Davina would sense it," Sophie argued.

"Unless, of course," Rebekah began. "Another witch-say, a traitor the cause, Katie for example-was to perform much more powerful magic at the same time. That would create a smoke screen concealing your very small spell from Davina."

Okay, I have to admit-The Originals were incredible. Now I'm not as amazed as to how they've been alive for so long without getting killed.

"Katie doesn't deserve to die," Sophie mustered.

There was a sound of someone slamming their hands on a table, and if I had to bet on anybody, it would be Klaus.

"Sophie Deveraux. You're in no position to be so principled," Klaus started. "You can't win a war without a few strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they may be. How many times have the vampires been one step ahead, known something they shouldn't? Your sister, executed in the public square for practicing magic, who knew she'd be caught? Did she even attempt to flee?"

"She was caught hiding in a cargo hold of a freighter before it set sail down the Mississippi," Sophie spat.

"And who, pray tell, of Marcel's valued inner circle manages his business at the docks?" Klaus further asked.

There was hesitation from Sophie's side before she finally said, "Katie's boyfriend, Thierry."

I couldn't make out what Sophie said next, but I heard footsteps approaching the door. Panicking, I pushed myself off of the door and launched myself back on to the sofa, picking up my phone and pretending to text on it.

I stayed on the sofa until Sophie had left, and I let myself relax. The relaxation was short lived, because the next thing I knew, Klaus was lifting my legs so that he could sit where my legs were. I rolled my eyes, and moved to sit properly, but I was surprised when he put my feet back into his lap. Huh. Well, as long as I got to keep laying down.

"It's rude to eavesdrop on people, you know that, right?" Klaus asked as he casually ran his hand up and down my ankle.

I fought against the shivers that were running down my back, and focused on what he was saying. "I wasn't eavesdropping," I stuttered.

Klaus smiled, looking over at me. "Juliet, we both know that you're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

Quick as a flash, Klaus was practically laying on top of me. My breath hitched, and I was staring into his impossibly green eyes as he grabbed my right hand, lifting it up so that I could see my fingers. "You have bits of wood underneath your fingernails," He started, and I gulped at the feeling of his breath tickling my nose. Without taking his eyes off of me, he nodded his head to the door that I was leaning on. "And there are scratches identical to the shape of your fingernails on that door."

That is just what he wants. For me to falter at his every word. I rolled my eyes, and managed to push him off of me so he went falling to the ground. He must have really been caught off guard if I had managed to do that. "Nice observation, Sherlock."

Klaus didn't seem at all angry that I had pushed him on to the ground. In fact, he seemed a little...playful. "I try my best," He said as he stood up. "Listen. Marcel is holding a gala and Rebekah and I must be present."

"Okay," I said slowly, sitting up. "What does that have to do with me?"

"You must stay in the house, and not let anyone inside," He finished.

I rolled my eyes. "Klaus, you've told me that every single time you leave the house," I said. "I think I get it now."

"Perfect!" Klaus said, and he moved to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a party to get ready for."

"Uh, Klaus?" I called, stopping him. He turned around to face me.

"Yes?"

"Why do you and Rebekah have to go?" I asked. "Does it have to do with getting Elijah back?"

Klaus paused, thinking about his answer. "Something like that."

"Will Marcel and his vampires be there?" I continued. What if he gets hurt? I didn't know why, but that thought didn't sit well in my stomach.

"It's a party thrown by Marcel-of course he's going to be there."

"Then can you promise me something?" I asked, my heart hammering as the words left my mouth.

"What?" Klaus asked, genuinely curious.

I took a deep breath before saying, "Look after yourself. Make sure you and-and Rebekah don't get into any trouble."

Klaus grinned. "Aw, would you look at that. You care about me."

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "The only thing that I care about is getting Elijah back and that's going to be rather difficult if you and Rebekah are dead," I said.

There was a flash of anger in Klaus's eyes, but it was gone when he blinked again. He turned and walked out of the room swiftly, a brief "Alright" thrown over his shoulder.

* * *

"So they just left you in the house?" Caroline asked as I walked into the back of the Mikaelson mansion. Rebekah and Klaus had left for Marcel's party a while ago. I took a shower and had some dinner, then read more of Elijah's journal before I grew tired of trying to read his minuscule writing.

So I picked up my cell phone and called up my best friend.

"Yup," I answered as I came to a stop in front of the pool. Hey. How many months have I been staying in this house and I didn't even know that they had a _pool_? I was definitely going to ask Hayley to buy me a bathing suit so I could take a swim every now and then.

"Without any protection?" She went on.

"Hayley should be home soon," I offered. "And Klaus made me promise that I wouldn't let anyone in the house. Even though he makes me make that promise every time he leaves the house."

"He's just looking out for you," Caroline assured me. "You have to think how hard this is on him. I mean, you have no idea who he is. _And_ you're carrying his kid."

I gave her that. I had informed Caroline earlier in our phone call that I had seemed to forget everything that's happened in the past two years, so she's mainly been bringing me up to speed on the more important things.

Like my sister being a vampire, my brother being a hunter, two of my best friends (including Caroline) being vampires, my sister's boyfriend being a vampire, and our other best friend Bonnie Bennett being a witch.

It's been an entertaining two years, to say the least.

"You're right," I said. "But Marcel still has Elijah. I just feel so useless!"

"No offense Jules, but you kinda are," Caroline said delicately. "Look, everyone in New Orleans is either a vampire, witch, or a werewolf. There aren't too many humans there. There isn't much you can do, especially if you're being used as a pawn in the witches plan."

"Gee Caroline, thanks for the support," I said with an eye roll. It was when I was halfway through my eye roll did I finally see the wolf.

I stopped listening to what Caroline was saying as I inched closer to the wolf. What was it doing here? And it was so creepy. It was mostly black, but had some white spots here and there. It started growling when I got too close, so I started walking backwards.

I turned around to run back into the house when I came face to face with another person, a woman. I nearly shrieked, and quickly ended the phone call, shoving my phone into my back pocket. "Who are you?" I asked.

"You're not supposed to be out here," The woman said, her black curls blowing in the wind.

"Thanks for the notice, Mom," I said sarcastically, crossing my arms. "Who are you?" I repeated.

She smiled gently. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry. I'm Sabine. We've met before, I'm one of Sophie's friends."

The pieces fell together as I recognized her as the woman Elijah and I had run into my first night awake in New Orleans. "You're one of the witches, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Sophie just asked me to come keep you company while everyone's out."

"How sweet of her," I grumbled.

Sabine chose to ignore my comment as she nodded her head behind me. "You know, it's drawn to you."

I looked behind me to see that the wolf from before was still there. I was still a bit freaked out over the fact that it hadn't run yet, but I felt...I don't know, sort of more relaxed with it around? Like I didn't have to worry about being outside.

"The child that you're carrying is part vampire part werewolf," Sabine continued. "You and Klaus made something special."

My stomach slightly turned. "I think it'd be even more special if I even knew who Klaus really was," I said. My mind managed to drift back to Elijah. "You know, you sound just like Elijah. He seems to think that as soon as this baby is born, all of his family problems are going to be solved and we're going to be like this perfect family. With the way things are going right now, I'd call us the Adams Family. I don't know if it's cute or ridiculous."

I'm leaning closer to cute, though.

"But, now he's gone," I said, reality hitting me hard. "And I don't even know what..." I looked down at my stomach, to where a little person was growing. "_It_, is."

Sabine smiled at me. "You know, I can do something about that, if you want. I can find out if it's a boy or a girl."

I felt a little bit of giddiness well up, but I quickly shut it back down when I remembered one crucial detail. "What happened to not being able to perform magic?"

"It's not magic. Just, an old trick my grandmother taught me," She explained. "Come on. You have to be a _little_ curious."

* * *

I didn't know how she did it, but Sabine convinced me to let her determine the gender of my baby. She had me lie down on the kitchen table, and I tried not to squirm as she waved an amulet over my stomach, right where my baby was.

It was a silent for a couple of minutes as I held my breath. Was it a boy? Was it a girl? Did I _want_ it to be one or the other? I just decided that no matter what it was, I wanted it to be healthy. I mean, as healthy as you can get being part vampire and part werewolf.

Sabine smiled. "I think it's a girl," She revealed.

My heart soared. A baby girl. _My_ baby girl.

The reality of me becoming a mother finally hit as the words left Sabine's mouth. It was going to happen. I was going to have a baby, and be a mother, and have to take care of another person. I was scared, but I knew I could do it.

Ooh, a girl! Caroline will be so thrilled! She's finally know which gender to shop for! Elena wouldn't care, as long as the baby was okay, but I knew she'd be secretly partying over the fact that it was a girl. Matt would be slightly disappointed it wasn't a boy, but would still teach her the same things he would've taught to her if she had been a boy. And Jeremy's reaction...I didn't know what his reaction would be, since he still didn't know that I was pregnant.

I think I'm going to have to fix that.

"Wait," She said, a frown forming on her face.

"Wait what?" I asked, fearing growing in my stomach. "Is it actually a boy? Is it a mini-Klaus?" I didn't know how I felt about that.

The amulet slight glowed, and Sabine suddenly dropped the amulet and arched her back, taking in deep gasps as if she couldn't get any air.

"_Hoc est infantima malom. Nos omnia perditu el eam_," She gasped. As soon as she had started, she stopped.

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting up.

She had a look of bewilderment on her face, but she shrugged it off and turned to face me again. "Yeah, sorry about that. I have no idea what that was." She cleared her throat. "I'm still going with I think it's a girl."

"So you don't _actually_ know?" I clarified.

She shook her head. "No. Like I said, it's just an old trick."

Sabine stayed for a bit longer, but I guess what happened earlier still had her freaked out, so I just told her to go home under the false pretense that Hayley would be home soon.

I pulled out my laptop, and took it into one of Klaus's many studies in the house that had the best WiFi connection. I didn't want this call dying out on me.

I logged into Skype, and was relieved when I saw Jeremy's screen name pop up. I clicked on his name, and waited for him to answer my call.

When he did, he had the biggest smile on his face. "Well, if it isn't my big sister."

"If it isn't my little brother," I said, a smile of my own stretched across my face.

"What's up? I haven't heard from you in forever. Elena told me that you and Klaus had gone vacationing for the summer."

"And summer is over," I mentioned. "And you're probably wondering why I'm not at home."

"Kind of."

I took a deep breath. "Well, the truth is Jeremy, I can't come home. At least, not for a while."

"Why not? Did something happen? Did Klaus turn you?" He asked, beginning to panic.

"No! No, I'm still a human," I said, calming him down. "But why I can't come back does involve Klaus."

"Is he not letting you come home? Because if he isn't, I have a few choice words to say to him..."

I laughed. "Jeremy, no. It's more like witches aren't letting me come home."

"Then I'll say those words to the witches. Why won't they let you come home?" He asked.

"Look Jer, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. I'm pregnant."

The look on Jeremy's face was priceless. "You're-you're _what?_"

"I'm having a baby," I said, a bit more confident. "A girl, actually. At least, I think it is."

Jeremy's face went from confused to happy back to confused and then back to happy. "You're having a baby! I'm going to be an uncle!"

"Pretty much," I said. "That _is_ how it worked, last time I checked."

"Wait, who's the father?" He asked, suddenly serious.

"That's the thing," I said. "Klaus is."

"But Klaus is a vampire. Vampire's can't have kids," He said, confused.

"I'm just gonna tell you what I told Elena. Nature found a loophole through Klaus's werewolf side, and voila!" I pointed to my stomach. "Miracle baby."

"Wait, _Elena_ knows?"

I winced. "Yeah, by the way, Elena knows I'm having a baby!"

"Who else knows?"

"As far as I know, Caroline and Matt. But only because Elena can't keep her mouth shut and she told Caroline, and we both know that Caroline cannot keep a secret to save her life, so she ended up telling Matt. Other than them, no one knows," I defended.

"Whoa. A baby. A girl, did you say?"

"Yup," I said, and hesitantly touched my stomach. "At least that's what a witch thinks."

"You said that witches wouldn't let you come home. Why not?"

"It's a really long story that I'd prefer not to drag you into, Jeremy," I explained. "Plus, I'm really tired."

"Then what are you doing talking to me?" He asked. "Go get rest! Pregnant women need rest, don't they?"

"Yeah, I guess, but I want to talk to you!"

"I don't want you to talk to me until you're rested up," Jeremy insisted. "Goodnight, Juliet."

Before I could protest, Jeremy closed the window we were talking in and ended the call.

Wow. Ditched by my baby brother. Never thought I'd see the day.

However, I did feel a little better knowing that my family knew I was pregnant now. So at least if Elena or Caroline blab again, Jeremy won't be surprised.

It wasn't that late, and my tiredness seemed to disappear when I remembered what happened with Sabine when she told me that I was having a girl. What happened to her...just wasn't _right_. Also, what was up with what she was saying?

I decided I had to know what was going on, so I opened up a translation tab in Google Chrome as I typed in what she had said.

"_Hoc est infantima malom. Nos omnia perditu el eam," _I muttered out loud, and tried several different languages into English, but no translation was coming up. Maybe she was speaking a really dead language, or a really broken form of another language.

I was so engrossed in trying to find out what Sabine had said that I didn't even notice Klaus walking in. Panicking, I quickly opened up a tab of YouTube and typed in a name of one of my favourite YouTubers, Danisnotonfire, and made it look like I was about to watch his videos.

I looked back up at Klaus as he stopped at the desk. "Welcome home," I said.

Klaus nodded his head at the greeting. "I just thought you might like to know that Elijah is returning to us."

I felt a huge weight that was sitting on my chest lift off. I sighed in relief, trying to conceal my smile of giddiness back. "Thank God," I muttered, but also acknowledged Klaus's efforts so that I wouldn't feel bad. "Thank _you_. Job well done."

Klaus studied my face carefully, and said, "You hardly remember him. And yet, you miss him. What is it about my brother that inspires such instant admiration?"

I actually had to think about my answer. What _did_ unleash all these feelings that I had for Elijah? "I don't know," I answered honestly. "He was kind to me. From the very second that I saw him again in New Orleans, he trusted me. I had no idea who he was, yet he promised to keep me safe. I don't know...I guess I admired _that_."

Klaus looked a little upset as he turned around to leave. Before I could stop myself, I called out his name, "Klaus?"

He didn't turn around, but he stopped walking away. "I found out something today," I started. Technically, it was his baby too. He had the right to know everything that I did. "I think it's a girl. I'm not too positive though, the witches can't do anything right. Just thought you should know."

Klaus didn't say anything as he stood there for a few seconds, but as he walked away, I liked to think that he smiled after learning he was having a daughter.

* * *

**TBC...**

**So, what did you think?**

**I am really excited for Elijah to come back like you can't even believe it.**

**Oh, and in response to CherryBlossons016's review, I would LOVE to bring Bonnie to NOLA, but as of right now in the timeline, Bonnie is still dead, and after she comes back to life, she's not a witch anymore, she's the Anchor to the Other Side.**

**Though I would LOVE to watch Bonnie put that little girl into her place.**

**"Strongest witch in the universe" MY ASS.**

***Ahem***

**Sorry.**

**I get over emotional and defensive of Bonnie Bennett.**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	5. Girl in New Orleans

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** I'm spoiling you guys rotten.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I don't know what the big deal is," I said, tucking my legs underneath me. "I feel fine."

Agnes, a witch sent to check up on me, sat on the couch across from me. "You are overdue for a check up," She insisted.

"She's right," Hayley, who was sitting next to me, said. "You need to go for at least one. All the witches have been doing is coming in and checking on you from time to time."

"So what would you recommend, huh?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Do you honestly think that a young human girl who was mistaken for a werewolf is just gonna pop into the Quarter for a quick ultrasound while being escorted by a witch?" I queried.

"A lot of women would kill to have a child," Rebekah piped up from the other side of the room. "It strikes me as odd that you're not taking better care of yours."

"That's not what I'm doing, Rebekah," I insisted. I _did_ care about my baby. I was just still freaked out over what happened the last time I ventured into the Quarter for a quick cup of freaking _tea_. "Need I remind you that the last time I stepped into the Quarter you had to come save me from three vampires?"

"I know a doctor out in the bayou," Agnes explained. "Off the beaten path. Now, I took the liberty of making an appointment for you. Tonight, after hours, just us. Vampires would never get word of it."

Hayley leaned over and squeezed my shoulder. "If it makes you feel calmer, I'll go too."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. They had cornered me. "Fine, I'll go. Bayou-baby-doctor it is." I pointed a finger at Hayley. "If you try backing out of this I _swear to God..._"

Hayley held up her hands in surrender. "I won't try anything, I swear. I promised to help take care of you, and I'm going to."

She rubbed my shoulder. "Now, it's time for you to have your smoothie."

I rolled my eyes. "What is it with you and shoving food down my throat?" I asked as I stood up to follow her to the kitchen.

* * *

Night had fallen faster than I could have ever believed, and before I knew it, I was being ushered into a car by Agnes and Hayley. I sat in the front while Hayley sat in the back.

We eventually pulled up to this old looking cabin, and my jaw dropped. "_That_ is a doctor's office?" Hayley asked, on the same wave length as me.

"Dr. Page is only this far out because Marcel's men kept terrorizing her patients," Agnes explained. "Go. She won't bite."

Hayley got out of the car first, and she opened my door for me. She made sure that she was standing slightly in front of me as we walked over to the clinic.

"First sign of danger, and you're out of here," Hayley practically demanded, but I was in no position to argue. She was doing this out of her own free will.

Hayley went in before me, and held out a hand in case she needed to push me out of the way. She cautiously turned the door knob and slightly stepped in.

Dr. Page was waiting for us by the reception desk. She brought us into the examination room, and told me to lay on the bed as she got the stuff for the ultrasound ready.

I felt so alone as I laid on the bed. Elena should be here. Jeremy. Caroline, even _Klaus_. I knew it sounded childish, but I just wanted someone to hold my hand.

I didn't know how she did it, but Hayley seemed to sense my loneliness. She reached over and took my left hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. I looked up at her, and smiled in thanks. She smiled right back.

Dr. Page put the jelly on my stomach, and it was cold as she ran the scanner over my stomach. I couldn't help but tear up at the sound of Baby Gilbert's heart beat.

"Your baby's heart rate is perfect," Dr. Page said as she lifted the wand off of my stomach.

"I knew it would be," I said knowingly. Dr. Page handed me a paper towel and I began wiping off my stomach as I sat up. "But this one-" I nodded my head over to Hayley. "-was freaking out over nothing."

"It wasn't nothing," She argued. "I just wanted to make sure the baby was okay. And for the record, I knew she was. She's a tough one, just like her Mom," Hayley finished with a smile, playfully punching me on the arm.

In the process, the sleeve of her cardigan slipped down, and I caught sight of a birthmark on her shoulder. I've seen it a few times whenever she's wearing a tank top or something, and I thought nothing of it.

However, Dr. Page must have thought something of it, because she brought it up. "That's a unique birthmark," She told Hayley, who adjusted her cardigan so that it was covering her shoulder again.

"We're pretty much done here, right?" She asked as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out, and saw that I had a text from Rebekah.

_Where are you?_

"Your blood pressure is a bit high, I've got something for it," Dr. Page said, and then she left the room to go get the medicine.

Once she was out of ear shot, Hayley turned to face me. "Is it just me, or does she give you the creeps?" She asked.

"It's not just you, trust me," I told her. "There was something about her smile that made my skin crawl."

I looked back down at my phone to reply to Rebekah's text.

_W\ Hayley at bayou clinic with doctor, _I said.

I jumped out of my skin at the sound of a wolf howling. Hayley looked over to where the sound was coming from, and she crossed over to the window.

"What do you see?" I whispered as she peered out.

She didn't answer me as she looked over to where Dr. Page and Agnes were standing, and I followed her gaze, only to get partially blinded by car headlights.

Dr. Page went into an office, and Hayley quickly turned to me as she mouthed, "Don't take the pills, I don't trust it."

I was about to ask her why she didn't, but Dr. Page walked in at that exact moment, a small cup of water in one hand and an even smaller pill holder in the other.

I stood up as I said, "You know what? I'm horrible at swallowing pills."

Dr. Page frowned for a second as she looked down at the medicine. "Well, I am too, truth be told."

She walked past me and over to her work station as Hayley and I looked out the doorway. My pulse quickened as I saw three or four men walk into the clinic and talk to Agnes.

And my pulse sky rocketed when I heard a, "No!" Come from Hayley behind me.

I had just enough time to duck out of the way as Hayley grabbed the arm of Dr. Page, and I was able to see a syringe filled with some sort of liquid inside of it. She knocked her head against Dr. Page, and that gave her enough of a time window to plunge the needle into Dr. Page's neck instead.

As she did that, I looked back to the doorway, where the men began charging towards us. I ran for the door, shutting it and locking it as fast as my trembling hands could.

Now I see why Klaus never wanted me to leave the house.

Hayley grabbed the chair was inside the examination room and crammed it under the doorknob. Then, she grabbed my arm, and pulled me over to where the window was. She grabbed underneath it, and tried pulling it up. Once I saw what she was trying to do, I helped her as best as I could.

"Jules, as soon as I get this open, you need to run," She instructed, though I barely heard it over the men pounding at the door. "I don't care if I have to stay back and deal with those guys, but you need to climb out this window and run, do you understand me?"

I didn't want Hayley getting hurt because of me, but I knew I'd never win this argument. I finally nodded, and at the same time, we finally got the window open. Hayley immediately grabbed me, and with her werewolf strength, hoisted me on top of the counter and practically pushed me out of the window. "Run! I'm right behind you!"

I did as she asked, no question. As fast as my legs could take me, I ran. I looked behind me once, and I was relieved when I saw Hayley running behind me. She managed to catch up with me as we made it to the woods.

Since we were a good deal away from the guys who were chasing us, Hayley grabbed my arms and pushed me into a bunch of bushes. "Stay there, and don't come out until I come back for you, okay? Don't make a sound." She was gone before I even had the chance to protest.

I covered my mouth to conceal my shaking breaths, and squeezed my eyes shut to stop my tears from flowing. I prayed to every God, any God, _somebody_ out there who was listening to keep Hayley safe as she tried to keep _me_ safe.

I heard footsteps pass me, and then I heard grunts and groans, mainly male, though, which made me think that Hayley was winning.

"Juliet, where's Juliet?" I heard Rebekah's voice, and I nearly cried out of relief as I came running out of the bushes. I tried not to trip over the bodies that Hayley had killed, and stumbled right into Rebekah's arms.

"I'm right here," I said as Rebekah fiercely hugged me back. I pulled myself out of Rebekah's arms and threw myself right into Hayley's. "Are you okay? You're not hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," Hayley confirmed as she hugged me back. We pulled away, but I stood by Hayley's side as she asked Rebekah how she found us.

"Juliet's text got me halfway, vamp hearing did the rest," She answered quickly. "Who are they?"

"Witches, warlocks, whatever," Hayley answered as she and Rebekah looked all around them for any more signs of danger.

Suddenly, more figures holding flashlights came into view. "There are more of them," Rebekah stated, and she turned to me. "You need to run!"

"I'm not gonna leave you by yourself!" I protested. Rebekah or Hayley could have easily been killed today because of me.

"She won't be, I'll stay," Hayley whispered. She grabbed my arm, and pushed me forward before I could protest anymore. "Run!"

I had no choice but to turn my back on them as I ran farther away from the scene.

"If I had a dollar for every problem my family has dragged me into," I faintly heard Rebekah mutter.

Before I could get too far, I heard Rebekah grunt in pain, followed by Hayley. I'd get my ass kicked for this later, but I stopped and turned around to see what had happened.

Those witches had crossbows with them, and they had shot Rebekah through the heart, and Hayley through the stomach. Both of them dropped to the ground as I stupidly called out, "Rebekah! Hayley!"

The guys caught sight of me, and I didn't get the chance to even _turn around_ before they shot an arrow at me. I screamed in pain as it lodged itself in my shoulder.

I instantly started feeling lightheaded at the blood loss, and I heard ringing in my ears as I lost the feeling in my legs. My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain as I landed on my bad side. Tears streamed down my face as I clutched at my bleeding shoulder, the blood seeping through my fingers and running down my wrist.

I didn't remember most of what happened after; I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. But when I finally woke up properly, I wasn't in the same spot as I was when I passed out. I was laying down on the outskirts of the forest, right in front of the cabin. My clothes were a bloody mess-_literally_. Blood ran down my shirt and stained the front side, and I was covered in dirt. My hand immediately went searching for the arrow in my shoulder, but I was surprised when it found nothing there but healed skin.

What? How could my skin have healed so quickly?

I shrugged it off as I stood up. I was shaky on my legs at first, but I managed to walk back to the front of the cabin. Rebekah and Hayley were no where in sight, but I bet if I called Klaus he could come and help find them.

I quickly realized that wouldn't be necessary as I saw the three of them-Klaus, Rebekah, and Hayley-walk out of the cabin. Rebekah and Hayley both looked relieved as they walked towards me, but Klaus did something that was kind of unexpected.

He ran right for me, and enveloped me in his arms.

I was stiff against the hug at first, but I gradually returned it as he ran his left hand through my hair, and his right one up and down my back. I didn't let it last too long, though, and pulled back after a few seconds.

Klaus looked me up and down, toying with my tattered, blood soaked clothes. "What happened? Tell me what happened."

I shook my head, trying to get the dead leaves out of it. "I don't know. After I got shot in the shoulder, I blacked out."

His hand skimmed over my shoulder as he examined my body for wounds that clearly weren't there anymore. "You've completely healed," He observed. "There's not a scratch on you."

I rolled my eyes. "You really give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money, don't you?"

"But you're only human," Klaus continued, ignoring my comment. "How could you have healed that fast?"

Hayley came over and wrapped her arm around me, leading me over to where Rebekah was, who also wrapped her arm around me. "I think it's the baby," Rebekah offered. "The vampire blood-_Klaus's _blood, in your system, can heal any wound," She finished as they sat me down on the porch.

My mind jumped back to my first night in New Orleans. How I had fallen off of the roof, yet when I scratched up my hands and knees, the wounds were healed within seconds. It makes a lot of sense, now that I thought about it.

"So, your baby healed you," Hayley concluded.

"How did you escape?" Rebekah asked. "Outnumbered, unarmed? And you're only human, for God's sake. Those men were ripped to shreds."

There was only one thing I could think of. "The other night, there was this wolf that was watching me. Sabine told me that it was drawn to me. I think it was trying to protect me."

Klaus growled. "The witches were supposed to protect you. When I get my hands on Sophie Deveraux-"

I cut off his threat. "It wasn't Sophie. It was Agnes."

"Fine!" He said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Agnes, Sophie, it's all the same to me. I'll slaughter the lot of them."

"Not if Elijah gets out first," Rebekah threw out.

I snapped my head in her direction. "Did you just say Elijah? Did you find him? Is he okay?"

"He's been in touch," Rebekah said. "And he was fine, as far as I could tell." She looked over to Klaus. "He has a plan." She looked back over to me, gently rubbing my back. "All that he asks is that we take care of you."

I smiled, my heart warming. I wrapped one arm around Rebekah, and the other around Hayley. "You guys seem to be doing a good job so far. I'd say Elijah has nothing to worry about."

Hayley squeezed my shouler. "Let's get you home. You need to get some sleep, after all the excitement you've had today."

She made me stand up, and I only took one step, before I went tumbling to the ground. I prepared myself for the harsh impact of hitting dirt and rocks, but Klaus was on me before I knew what was going on. He tucked one arm underneath my legs, and wrapped his other one around my back so that he was carrying me bridal style.

"I've got you, love," He whispered into my ear. I looked up into his eyes, that immediately softened as they stared back into my brown ones. "I've got you."

I leaned my head against his warm shoulder and gave in to my body's demand of sleep.

* * *

A deep yearning feeling thundered in my stomach, and I realized too late that I had little for dinner. I tried ignoring it, but it became too much for me. I opened my eyes, and took a peek at the clock on my beside table. It read 12:36 AM.

Figures.

I rolled over, and I got a jolt of surprise when I saw Klaus sitting at the desk in my room. It looked like he was going through a book, but I couldn't find a title on it.

I immediately sat up, the blanket falling so that it was sitting at my torso. "What are you doing in here?"

Klaus took a few more seconds to look at his book before he closed it, placing it on the desk. "What does it look like? I was watching over you."

"Why?" I asked, pulling my legs up and tucking them under my chin.

"Well, after the events of tonight, let's just say I was worried," He said, standing up. He crossed the room, and sat next to me on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I guess," I replied, and I felt the same rumbling in my stomach again.

Klaus smiled. "You're hungry."

I gave him a look, a hint of a smile on my face. "No, that's the sound of the garbage truck outside."

Klaus grinned as he said, "It's nice to know you haven't lost your impeccable sense of humour." He gently patted my shoulder as he stood up. "I'll go get you something to eat."

"Really?" I asked as he made his way to the door.

He stopped in the middle of the doorway. "Really," He answered, and he left the room, his footsteps echoing in the hallways.

I didn't know what was with me and invading people's privacy, but it was killing me that I didn't know what Klaus seemed so engrossed in. I looked back to the door to see if he was gone, and pushed the blankets off of me as I tip toed to the desk.

Now that I could see the cover of the book properly, it was a deep shade of brown. Again, there was no title on the cover. The closer I looked at it, the more I kept thinking that it was a photo album.

I took another glance over at the door in case Klaus had decided to pop up, but again, he wasn't there. I looked back to the book, and gently opened it.

I made sure that the cover made little to no noise as it came in contact with the desk. My heart stopped when I saw what was on the inside.

I was right, it was a photo album. It was a photo album filled with pictures of _me_.

Okay, and Klaus too, but mainly me.

I stared at the photos in wonder as I flipped the pages. There were pictures of me acting as if I didn't know there was a camera there (which I probably didn't). There were pictures of me as I tried covering the camera lens so that Klaus couldn't take the pictures of me, but I had a smile on my face as if I were enjoying it.

_This_ was what Klaus was so engrossed in? Pictures of me? I was sitting right on my bed! I'm living in his _house_, he doesn't need pictures of me.

But that's when I realized that these were probably pictures of me _before_ I had my accident. When I was still in love with him.

So he was reminiscing?

Footsteps in the hall alerted me to someone approaching the room, so I quickly shut the book, and turned to the bookshelf that was beside the desk instead, making it look like I was looking for a book.

I pulled out a copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ as Hayley walked into the room. "Hey, Klaus said for me to come get you. He's making you some soup."

"Yeah, I'm coming," I said, placing the book right next to Klaus's photo album. I eyed Klaus's book one last time, then followed Hayley down to the kitchen.

* * *

**TBC...**

**NOT a very long one, but it's another update! And Jules's relationship with the wolf **_**will**_** be explained. I've got it **_**sort of **_**figured out.**

**Anyways!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	6. Sinners and Saints

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** I _was_ planning on writing Ripples of Reality until I was caught up, but I missed this story. Like, a lot.

So here's an update!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_One _day.

That's all I'm asking for. _One day_. One day where I don't have to worry abotu supernatural creatures wrecking havoc and trying to kill my baby.

But of course, I can't have that. Not while the father of my child is trying to overthrow another ruler.

I was sipping my tea when I walked in on Klaus, Rebekah, and Sophie.

"You can't go out there now!" Sophie protested to Klaus. Ugh, what was Klaus up to this time? "I need to gather the witches' remains and consecrate them. If I don't get to them before sundown, we'll lose the link to their magic."

"Those witches tried to kill Juliet," He said, pointing to me. "I'd prefer for Marcel's informant not to find anything that could lead him back to us, to her, or, you know," He pointed awkwardly at my stomach. "That."

"Classy to the end, eh, Klaus?" I said as I took another drink.

Klaus pointed to Sophie. "Stay put! And save the rest of your story 'til I return." He left without another word.

I looked over at Sophie. This witch ritual thing seemed really important to her. It would be really bad if she missed out on the power, wouldn't it?

Whatever. I'm hungry.

I went back into the kitchen, and began looking through the fridge and the cupboards for food. It seemed like there was _nothing_ to eat, when in reality, the fridge and the cupboards were chocked full of food. I just wasn't in the mood to eat any of that food.

Hayley walked into the kitchen, and started making herself a cup of coffee. "Hayley, can you pick something out for me to eat?" I asked as I stepped back. "I don't know what I want."

Hayley nodded, and she went over to one of the cupboards. "You want..." She thought aloud as she scanned the shelves. She reached in, and pulled out a box. "Toaster strudels."

My stomach growled in anticipation as Hayley popped two strudels into the toaster. "You know me too well."

"And we've only been around each other for a little over three months," Hayley said as she went back to her coffee.

I sat down on top of the island table, and I couldn't help but notice the far away look in Hayley's eyes. "What is it?"

She snapped back to attention. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Hayley, even though we've only know each for a little over three months, I know you. We're friends, remember? You can tell me anything."

Hayley took a deep breath. "I don't know if you're gonna like it."

"Does it have to do with defying Klaus?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm in."

* * *

It turns out, Hayley was convinced that the werewolf that saved us (which was also the werewolf that was watching me the day that Klaus and Rebekah attended Marcel's party) had something to do with her family. She wanted to go investigate it, but I told her that if she was going, I would be too. She tried protesting, but after everything that Hayley has done for me, this is the least I could do for her. She gave in after I told her that we could find out more because the werewolf liked me.

So the two of us followed Sophie back to her little witchy cave. Sophie finished stuffing her bag, and whirled around to leave, when Hayley and I stepped out of the shadows.

"Hey," Sophie said, surprised.

I nodded at her bag. "Looks like someone doesn't know how to listen," I commented. "You're going out there anyways, aren't you?" I looked over to Hayley then back to to Sophie. "We wanna go with you."

"No, thanks," She said quickly. "Already got assaulted by Klaus this morning, don't need a repeat."

Sophie moved to leave, but I moved in front of her. "What if whatever is responsible for all those dead witches is still out there? We already know that it likes me and hates witches, so face it; you'll be safer with me."

"Sorry if I'm not buying your sudden concern for my safety," Sophie said. She tried to leave again, but Hayley slammed her hand on the wall beside her, creating a barrier and not allowing Sophie to leave. Ah, the joys of werewolf strength. Hey, why don't I get any cool powers? I'm just a pregnant human!

Sophie stepped back. "Listen, the whole reason I came to this stupid town in the first place was to learn more about my family," Hayley told her. "Your sister is the one who told me Marcel ran the werewolves out of the Quarter and into the bayou. And last night, I'm pretty sure some guardian angel wolf saved mine and my friend's lives. So we're coming with you."

A new voice alerted us to another person. "Could you three _be_ more idiotic?" Rebekah asked.

Hayley and I just exchanged worried glances. Would Rebekah rat us out?

"Two can play the follow game, you know," She reminded us. "You _heard_ Klaus. He and Marcel are heading right where you're going. Why?"

"To distract them," I answered. "And unless you wanna lock up a pregnant human and her werewolf friend, we're coming with you," I declared. "And poor Elijah would be so angry if he found out that me and my baby died of asphyxiation?"

Hayley looked over at me, a grin on her face. "Oh, you're good."

"I grew up with Elena and Jeremy Gilbert. You _had_ to be good."

* * *

Half an hour later, Rebekah, Hayley, Sophie, and I trudged through the swampy bayou. I remembered where the witches' bodies were, and I'm pretty sure that no one had moved them yet.

"What's all that dreadful, hillbilly ruckus in the background?" Rebekah spoke into the phone. "Well, order up a few rounds of moonshine and stay clear of the dead witches. The witch is on a burial mission, your baby mama's friend is on a spare quest and of course, Juliet being Juliet offered to help her, and I am keeping my promise to Elijah to keep her safe, so stall, please."

Rebekah hung up, and we were all silent as we walked through the woods. That is, until Rebekah spoke up.

"So this Harvest thingy," She began. "Tell me more."

What the hell is a Harvest?

"Klaus said to wait," Sophie reminded her.

"Yes, and Klaus _also_ said to stay out of the bayou, and yet here we are, amongst the crawly, buzzy creatures," Rebekah retorted.

Hayley and I shared a look, before we both rolled our eyes. My eyes, however, landed on the bodies of the dead witches.

As soon as they did, the memory of the werewolf ripping apart the witches came flooding back. I guess because I was so scared I didn't notice anything at first.

"We're here," I told them, and the four of us walked further into the path. The area reeked of decomposing bodies, and I had to cover my nose to keep my breakfast from coming back up. Ever since I became pregnant, my senses had heightened, which meant that the smell was stronger than it should have been.

Sophie knelt on the ground and dug into her bag for the ingredients to consecrate the dead witches.

"Whoa," Hayley breathed, and I followed her gaze as she walked over to whatever had awed her.

It was a gigantic paw print. It was bigger than a regular paw print, though. Hayley pointed to a tree, and I looked over to see three long, bloody claw marks engraved into the bark.

The snapping of twigs alerted us to something-or some_one_\- else there, and Hayley and Rebekah instinctively moved closer to me. "Who's there?" Rebekah called out.

As if on cue, a male started walking towards us, and his gaze grew frantic as it fell on Rebekah.

"What the hell? An Original?" He sputtered, and without another word, he sped off back into the direction that he had come from.

"Let me guess," I spoke up. "Marcel's informant?"

"Glad to know that your intelligence didn't go away when your memories did," Rebekah muttered.

* * *

Rebekah had rushed after Marcel's informant after a quick phone call with Klaus. And that was _hours_ ago.

I sat with Hayley as we watched Sophie consecrated the bodies of the dead witches, and afterwards, we helped (well, more like _Hayley _helped-she didn't want me lifting heavy objects) load all of the stuff back into Sophie's truck.

"Those, dead witches," I started, and Sophie turned her head in my direction. "All this because if a vision about my baby that you don't even believe?"

Sophie sighed as she closed the trunk. "Look, I love Sabine, but she's the witch equivalent of a drama queen. I've learned to take little stock in whatever she says or sees. Just kinda wish she'd kept her shut."

"You and me both," I muttered as I leaned against the trunk.

"But about the Harvest ritual?" Hayley asked. "You told us before that you didn't believe in it. Were you right?"

Sophie didn't hesitate as she shook her head. "No. I saw it with my own eyes. It was working. It was _real_."

"So how can you be so sure Sabine's vision isn't?" Hayley continued, and the two of them looked over to me.

I automatically wrapped my arms around my middle. Nuh-uh. No way. No one was getting near my baby.

They would have to go through me first.

"Hang on," I paused. "What the hell is a Harvest?"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "In witch culture, we were supposed to sacrifice the lives of four girls to appease our ancestors to keep our access to traditional magic," She started. "And when the other witches tried to do it, they killed three of the witches. Marcel stopped the ritual before they could kill the fourth, and now the fourth is in Marcel's care, and all the magic from the first three witches, instead of going into the ground, went into the fourth witch, who is now holding all the magic inside of her. She has to be killed in order to complete the Harvest. Only problem is, no one knows where she is, because she's with Marcel."

"Who is this girl?" I asked.

"Davina Claire."

I recognized this name. She was the girl that had Elijah at first. She was the girl that Klaus and Rebekah wanted to do the Locator spell for to find Elijah.

Hayley was right. If the Harvest was real, why couldn't Sabine's vision about my baby being the death of all witches be real?

* * *

"I don't care if we have to get you a leash," Rebekah told Hayley as she poured three drinks. "That was your last trip to the bayou. And I'm saying that because the both of us know that Juliet is going to follow you."

Hayley and I came home to find Rebekah waiting for us. And Rebekah was _very_ pissed because of how much trouble we could have gotten into.

"Is it _my_ fault that I'm a good friend?" I asked. "Look, I _know_ it was stupid following Hayley into the bayou, especially since I smell like a werewolf and Hayley _is_ a werewolf, but ever since I _got_ to New Orleans, the _one_ person that's taken care of me has been Hayley." I looked over at Hayley, who had a hint of a smile on her face. I looked back to Rebekah. "Not you, not Elijah, not even _Klaus_. Hayley." I nudged Hayley slightly. "I owed you one."

Rebekah shook her head. "What is it with you two and the wolves, anyways?"

"I don't know about Jules," Hayley started. "But I felt...I don't know, _connected_ to them." She shook her head as she smiled in disbelief at herself. "I don't know. Maybe it's just a pipe dream that I have of finding any _real_ family out there. But sometimes, when I feel like it's me against the world, it keeps me going."

Rebekah pushed one of the glasses towards Hayley, who accepts it. Then, she held one out to me, and I gave her a look that said, 'Uh, kind of pregnant, here'.

"Oh, right," She said with a shake of her head. She drank my glass, then drank from her own. She turned to Hayley. "Well, if you ask me, family is a pain in the behind."

Hayley lightly smiled, and I turned to her. "As for having no _real_ family, how dare you," I said to her with a shake of my head. I wrapped my arm around her, and squeezed her to me. "As long as you live in this house, as long as you live _with me_, me and my baby are your family. I mean, I don't voluntarily stomp through a bayou when I could be sleeping for just _anyone_."

Hayley laughed as she gave me a one armed hug, and we continued small talk. But it abruptly ended when the front door swung open, and Klaus stepped inside.

"Nik!" Rebekah exclaimed. "_Finally_. What-" She cut herself off as she saw Elijah walk in behind his brother, a smile on his face as his gaze landed on his sister.

My stomach dropped.

_Elijah_.

He was here.

Rebekah bolted forwards as she wrapped herself into her brother's arm, sighing in happiness that he was back with them. "Elijah," She breathed happily. She pulled back. "You're safe."

I suddenly felt incredibly awkward. I'm not sure what did it. I mean, I was insanely happy that Elijah was back, but I felt like I was intruding on family business. So as Hayley stepped forward to greet Elijah, I managed to slip away to the back porch outside.

I let the cool breeze hit my face as I stepped outside. For once in my life, I felt at peace. Elijah was home. My baby was safe. Hayley knew that she had a family in me and the baby. All was right in the world.

I heard creaking behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see that Elijah had followed me outside.

My heart beat quickened, but I tried calming it down as he started walking closer to where I was. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling extremely cold. Didn't the breeze feel nice two seconds ago?

"So, you're back," I finally spoke up, but my voice sounded all shaky.

He nodded. "I'm back."

A comfortable silence made its way to us as the two of us just stood there, looking at each other.

"I've thanked Hayley, for taking care of you in my absence," Elijah brought up, and I nodded.

"That's good," I said. "Hayley's a good person and my family." I lifted a shoulder. "Family doesn't end with blood, you know."

Elijah smiled at my comment. I knew how important family was to him, and so I knew _just_ what buttons to press. "You're right, it doesn't."

"Thanks for coming back," I offered.

He nodded. "Well, I _did_ make a promise. I intend to honour it."

I nodded, too. "I understand that, and thank you." Then, without warning, I lifted my hand, and smacked him right across the face.

I shook out the pain in my hand as he turned his face back towards me, obviously not seeing my assault coming. "But try and leave me alone with your _crazy _siblings again, and I will dagger you and hand deliver you back to Marcel myself," I told him cheerfully. I leaned forward a bit. "Welcome home."

* * *

Elijah called a meeting, and I stood next to Hayley as we all came into one of the studies. "Everything that brought us here to New Orleans was a lie," He started. "The story that Sophie Deveraux fabricated, this...struggle for control, of the French Quarter, this war between vampires and witches, wasn't over a territory at all. It was over Davina."

Davina, the witch that was supposed to die in the Harvest, but didn't.

"Eight months ago, Sophie Deveraux and her sister Jane-Anne lost _everything_," Elijah continued. "Not four months after that, a young, pregnant girl wanders into their restaurant, and all hope is renewed."

Yup, that was me. Of course, Elijah and I _had_ to walk into Sophie's restaurant.

"Jane-Anne sacrificed her life so that her sister could use you to find Davina," Elijah said to Klaus. "If Sophie Deveraux was successful in capturing Davina, she can return Jane-Anne's daughter back to life. We thought we'd come here to wage a war for power," Elijah went on. "This is about family. In order to return her niece to life, Sophie Deveraux will fight to the death. And that makes her more dangerous than anyone."

Seriously.

_One day_.

It's all I'm asking for.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Sorry if this chapter is short! Hopefully the next one is longer!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	7. Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Back so soon?

Literally like, four hours later.

I was just so excited to get to Bloodletting that I had to write this episode!

Now, this was a really long one! I'm proud of myself!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

At about 6 PM, I received a call from my sister.

"Juliet?" Elena sobbed.

"What?" I asked, fear creeping up in my stomach. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"It's Bonnie," She cried. "She's...she's _dead_."

My stomach dropped. "_What_?" I bellowed.

Bonnie? Dead? No, that _wasn't_ possible. I had just gotten an email from her the other day! She was suggesting names for the baby. "She can't be _dead_!"

"She is, Jules," Elena bawled. "Apparently she died trying to bring Jeremy back from the Other Side when she died. Jeremy can see ghosts, she's been communicating through him all this time."

The memory of Caroline telling me this came flooding back. "Oh my _God_," I choked, grabbing the chair in my room to steady me. Tears slipped down my face.

No! She couldn't be dead! This was _Bonnie_. She was one of my best friends! She had to be alive! There's still so much we hadn't gotten to do with her!

"You're having a funeral, right?" I asked through my tears.

"More of a memorial, tomorrow," Elena answered.

"I'm coming," I told her.

"But what about the witches?"

"Damn the witches!" I screamed as I threw my chair to the ground. "Bonnie was my _best friend_, too. I can't miss this. I'm _coming_."

I hung up, and immediately went online to buy a plane ticket. I had one purchased within the hour, set to take off at 6 the next morning.

I searched all in the house until I finally found a suitcase, and I fought through my tears as I threw clothes inside of it.

I guess I was making a lot of noise, because there was a knock at the door. "Planning on making a trip, love?" Klaus asked as he walked into my room.

I sniffled. "I'm going back to Mystic Falls."

Klaus scoffed. "No, you're not."

"Oh, no?" I asked sarcastically as I slammed a t-shirt into the suitcase. "And I suppose you're going to stop me?"

"Well, actually," Klaus started as he put his hand on my arm.

I immediately tore my arm away from my grasp. "Don't touch me!" I growled. "Relax, I'm coming back tomorrow."

"Why are you even going in the first place?" He asked.

"You wanna know why I'm going?" I questioned, tears building up in my eyes and boiling over. "Because my best friend is _dead_."

Klaus's eyes widened. "Who?"

"Bonnie Bennett," I told him, and I went back to packing. "They're holding a memorial for her tomorrow, and I _have _to be there."

"Juliet..." Klaus started, but I cut him off.

"No!" I thundered. "I've been so involved in all of _your_ drama that I didn't even _notice _that my best friend is _dead_," I sobbed, putting my hands to my forehead, pushing my bangs back. "Oh God, I am a _horrible_ person."

"Juliet Gilbert, you are _not_ a horrible person," Klaus insisted.

"Am I?" I asked. "What kind of a person doesn't notice that her best friend since the _first grade _was dead?"

At that point I was full on sobbing. There was no way I could make it stop. My hands went to my chest, and I cried until I felt like I had no tears felt.

A few seconds later, I was enveloped in Klaus's arms. I wept into his shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him. I needed comfort, and Klaus was offering.

"I understand why you must go back," Klaus told me as he pressed me to him tighter. "I will allow you to go. On a few conditions."

"What?" I groaned miserably.

"You come back the same day," He started. "You stay under the radar, and one of us comes with you. Either me, Elijah, Hayley, or Rebekah."

I pulled back from Klaus, and he wiped my cheeks until they were dry. "Thank you," I whispered. I honestly didn't expect this reaction from Klaus.

He leaned forward and tenderly kissed me on the forehead. "I am so sorry, my dear Juliet."

* * *

I decided to take Hayley with me. We boarded the plane to Mystic Falls the next morning, and we arrived late in the afternoon the same day. I only had a couple hours, because my flight left later that night, but that was all that I needed.

I told Elena not to tell anyone else that I was coming. So I got changed into my black dress that was slightly tight around the middle, and Hayley and I went to the spot in the forest that Elena had texted me to go to.

When I got there, I saw Elena, with Caroline, Matt, Jeremy, and some other guy, who I recognized to be Damon, Elena's new boyfriend from the pictures that she had sent me.

Elena turned around, and her breath caught as she saw me. "Juliet," She breathed, and before I knew it, I was wrapped up in her embrace.

The two of us sobbed as we clutched at each other. I felt three more pairs of arms wrap around me, and I opened my eyes to see that Caroline, Matt, and Jeremy had joined my group hug.

Hayley stepped forward a little. "I'm sorry to break up the reunion, but guys, we're on a really short time."

I wiped at my tears, nodding. "Hayley's right. You remember Hayley, don't you?"

They all nod, and all of us with the exception of Hayley wandered back to where they had all gathered, and when I got there, I saw that they were gathered around a tree trunk.

Jeremy went first, and put a framed photograph on top of the tree stump. Closer inspection revealed it to be a picture of Jeremy, Bonnie, Matt, Caroline, Elena and I, all laughing as if we didn't have a care in the world.

How could so much have changed so fast?

Caroline went second, and she placed two black and red pompoms on the stump. She turned around, and walked back over to me, trying to conceal her sobs. I knew what the pompoms meant to Caroline and Bonnie; they were both on the cheerleading squad in high school.

Matt went next, and pulled out a whistle from his pocket that he put next to Caroline's pompoms. I also knew what the whistle meant; Matt and Bonnie were lifeguards together for a summer.

Elena was after Matt, and she nearly stumbled on her way over to the stump. She placed her hand on the tree as she kept herself from falling. She took out a handful of feathers from a small bowl, and she let her tears flow as the feathers flew on to the stump. I didn't know what the feathers meant, but since it was Elena, who was the closest to Bonnie, it meant a lot.

Elena turned around, and went right over to Caroline, wrapping her in a fierce hug as they sobbed.

After Elena, it was my turn. Even if I wasn't already hormonal, I would still be crying as hard as I was. I moved my hand to my right wrist, and I tugged off the bracelet that I had been wearing for the past twelve years. Sobs racked my body as I placed the bracelet on the tree stump. The memory of how it connected Bonnie and me came flooding back to me.

* * *

_"Julie!" Bonnie's seven year old self giggled, running up to my house. "Look at what I have!"_

_ "What?" I asked just as eagerly, coming down my porch as Bonnie's dad began talking to my parents._

_ She held up a kit. "It's a friendship bracelet maker! We should make some!"_

_ And for the next couple of hours, Bonnie and I made each other friendship bracelets. We used each other's favourite colours, and favourite symbols. When we were done, we put them on each other's wrists._

_ "See?" She said as we put them on. "Now, we'll be best friends forever, as long as we have these bracelets."_

_ "Forever?" I asked uncertainly. At the time, I didn't think that you could have a friend for that long._

_ Bonnie giggled as she leaned over and grabbed me into a hug. "Forever."_

* * *

Forever hadn't lasted as long as I hoped.

I turned around and ran right for Matt, missing what Damon had put on the stump. I flung my arms around him, and clutched at him as tightly as I could, sobbing into his shoulder.

I pulled back from Matt as we grasped hands, and we turned around to see Jeremy grabbing the bell that was on the tree stump. "We ring this bell, in honour of Bonnie. And in rememberance for her," He continued, then gave the bell a gentle ring. And then, he just looked confused. "I don't know what else to say."

He was quiet for a second, and then he spoke again. "She said that she's not going anywhere. That she's been here all along. Bonnie, has watched as you have had the summer of your lives," Jeremy said, and I knew that Bonnie was telling him from the Other Side what to tell us. "Well, Jules, not so much."

I choked out a laugh as he turned specifically to Elena. "She saw you happy. And she knows that you think now you can't have a normal life, that you have to be there for everyone, but you _don't_. Everyone will find their way. So, you are going to repack your things, and you are going to go back to college, and you're gonna live it up." That just made Elena cry harder.

Jeremy's gaze fell to Matt. "You didn't do anything wrong, Matt. You know should would have sent you back three hundred emails, if she could." I could feel Matt shake with tears, and I leaned more into his side to comfort him. "She misses you."

Jeremy shifted his gaze from Matt, to me. "Juliet. She's watched you all summer long as you lived in New Orleans, trying to make sense of the crazy situation that you're in. No matter how much more is shoveled on to you, she sees you coming out fighting every time." He smiled. "And despite being Klaus's kid, she knows that your daughter is going to grow up with so much love, more love than any mother could give to her child."

Bonnie's words shattered my heart as my hand moved to where Baby Gilbert was laying, and I rubbed my stomach in circles. How was Baby Gilbert going to grow up without her aunt Bonnie? Tears flooded down my face at an even faster rate.

Jeremy turned his head to Caroline. "Caroline. She watched you decorate your dorm like your life depended on it," He conveyed, which actually made Caroline laugh through her tears, but the words just brought on another wave of them. "And she knows that college isn't everything that you expected and that you feel like something's missing, but..." Jeremy cut himself off as his gaze fell behind Caroline. "Tyler."

We all turned around, and saw our other friend, Tyler Lockwood with a white rose in his hand. Caroline sobbed, before running towards him. They fell into a hug, which lasted a couple seconds before Caroline brought Tyler over to our memorial. He placed the rose on the stump with the rest of everyone's pieces for Bonnie, before going back and hugging Caroline.

I looked over and saw Damon's arms wrapped around Elena, Tyler's arms wrapped around Caroline, and I looked at me and Matt hugging each other, when something hit me.

Jeremy hadn't had a hug.

Bonnie was everyone's friend, but she was Jeremy's girlfriend. They shared a bond that none of us could have had with her. And he's been sitting all summer with the knowledge that Bonnie was dead, and he couldn't even tell anyone.

Which is why I unwrapped myself from Matt, and made my way over to where my little brother was before winding my arms around his neck, bringing him close. "You're so brave, Jer. So brave," I whispered in his ear. I pulled away, and turned around, and we all stood as we mourned and remembered Bonnie Bennett.

Student.

Witch.

Girlfriend.

Daughter.

_Friend._

* * *

After about a million goodbyes and promises to take care of Baby Gilbert, Hayley and I boarded a plane later that night.

We were in flight when she reached over and took my hand. "Are you okay?" She asked.

I took a deep breath in, and looked out the window. Bonnie was out there. She was somewhat at peace.

I looked back over at Hayley. "I will be. Eventually."

* * *

At about 10 AM the next morning, Hayley and I got back to New Orleans. She immediately went into her room to sleep, but I made a short stop to Klaus's room.

I gently knocked on the door, and he granted me permission to walk in. I stepped inside, and he turned around to see who it was. When he saw that it was me, he dropped everything that he was doing. "You're back," He breathed, and he took three big strides towards me. "Are you okay?" He asked as he hugged me.

I actually hugged him back. "I will be. I'm going to be." I pulled back from Klaus. "I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me go. For not making a big fuss," I said, and I cleared my throat. "I really needed that. Hopefully, I can start moving on with my life."

"You're welcome," Klaus said.

I turned around to leave, but I stopped. I turned back around to face Klaus, and I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. Really." And with that, I turned back around to head to my room, because I _seriously_ needed some sleep.

* * *

The next few days were spent in bed. I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed and greet the day.

But I was forced to get up on the fifth day in bed when I woke up that morning at about 6 AM. I ran into my bathroom and emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet.

I groaned as I retched, trying my best not to move, but I also had to try and keep my hair back. "Stupid morning sickness," I grumbled before I threw up again. I carefully looked down at my stomach. "You _better_ appreciate what I'm going through."

I threw up a couple of more times, and I felt like I was pretty done. When I checked the clock in the bathroom, it said 7: 28 AM.

I tried getting up off of the ground, I really did, but I had no energy. So instead, I passed out on the ground, sleeping coming quite easily now that I didn't feel the need to projectile vomit anymore.

When I woke up again, it was 10:30 AM. I finally had more energy after my rest, so I pulled myself off of the ground by grasping the bathroom counter, and hauling myself up. I looked into the mirror, where my eyes were slightly red.

Okay, today was the day. I knew Bonnie wouldn't want me to stop living, so I brushed my teeth to get rid of the combination of morning and vomit breath, and I was about to turn around to make my way downstairs when I noticed something odd on my shoulder.

It was a mark.

A crescent moon mark, to be exact.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I moved more in front of the mirror to try and get a better look at it. It looked familiar, but my tired head just couldn't place _where_.

Deciding that I was too tired to figure it out, I covered the mark with a bandage. The last thing I needed was for Elijah or Rebekah or Hayley or Klaus freaking out over when it could really be _nothing_. I just wanted to know what it was first.

I grabbed my robe and pulled it on as I left my bedroom. I rested one hand on my now growing stomach as I made my way down the stairs. The small baby bump was starting to make this feel more _real_.

I walked into the kitchen, and immediately went for the fridge. I was awake, and I was _hungry_.

I just had the same problem as I always do.

I didn't know what I wanted to eat.

I growled softly as I looked through the fridge. I leafed through the fridge, and I decided I wanted something with milk. I'm not sure _what_ yet, though. I grabbed the carton to pull out, and groaned when I felt how light it was. That meant that it was empty.

A voice caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. "Good morning," Elijah said, and I whirled around to see him standing in the entrance of the kitchen.

"First of all, don't do that again," I instructed. "And second of all, good morning to you, too." I looked around the kitchen, waiting for Hayley to walk in. "Do you know where Hayley is?"

"I think she's out grocery shopping," Elijah answered. I was about to ask why they let her go when werewolves were _clearly_ banned from the Quarter when he said, "Don't worry. I have asked Marcel that Hayley not be harmed as a favour."

I sighed in relief as I turned back to the fridge. "Did she remember to put milk on the grocery list? Because we are clearly _out_. Would it really kill anyone to actually _put_ it on the list?"

"Speaking of," Rebekah's voice said as she walked back into the house from a set of back doors in the kitchen. She took off a pair of yellow gloves as she walked past me. "Text Hayley and ask her to bring bleach."

She walked out of the room as I looked back into the fridge. Ice cream? Was that _considered _breakfast? I shrugged as I pulled it out anyways.

"You know, I _do_ hope that my siblings were hospitable towards you in my absence," Elijah said.

"Okay, that is a _really_ downplayed and polite version of 'I hope my siblings weren't too busy ripping each other's-and other people's-throats out while you tried to stay alive after my brother daggered me in the heart'," I said. "And 'in your absence', I have been attacked by French Quarter vampires who were super _convinced _that I was a werewolf, I've been living in a house with a secret dungeon full of freaking _coffins_, and I was very close to being killed by crazy witches who are convinced my baby is Satan."

All the while that I had been talking, Elijah had placed a bowl on the island beside me, and he had put the ice cream back into the fridge. He took out two containers of something, and poured some cereal into the bowl. Further inspection revealed one of the containers to be...

"Oh," I said in a small voice. I blushed to the tips of my ears. "Milk." I sighed as he poured some milk into the bowl. "Now you see why Hayley makes me breakfast every morning?" I shook my head as I continued. "I've been doing okay, though. Your siblings have been super protective, as has Hayley," I told him. "I really have you to thank for that. Except for the Hayley part."

"Well, maybe more on Rebekah's part," Elijah said. "Niklaus _does_ care about you. He...just has a weird way of showing it."

"You're telling me," I groaned as I rolled my eyes. "I am just super lucky that Hayley had been in that restaurant when I decided to go get breakfast to make myself feel better."

"As for _me_," Elijah continued. "I'm just happy to see that you are in one piece."

My stomach slightly turned, and I fought against the blush that was creeping up my neck.

"Now, about the murderous witches," Elijah moved on. He picked up the bowl, and handed it to me. "I have some concerns," He told me as he handed me a spoon.

"Trust me, Elijah," I began. "They're pure _evil_. And _crazy_. _And_, I'm still linked to the life of Sophie Deveraux, which does _not_ sit well in my stomach."

"It does not sit well in mine, either," Elijah confessed. "I think it's time that we took care of that little problem."

"I am all for it. As soon as they're unlinked, we get to leave this crap town," Rebekah mentioned as she walked back into the room. I furrowed my eyebrows as I watched her drag a dead girl's body by the arm across the room. "Who do we have to kill?"

I gave Elijah a look that said, 'Do I _really_ want to know?'

He shook his head as he answered in an alarmingly casual tone, "Probably no one."

I gave him a look. Let's be real here, these were the _Originals_ we were talking about here.

"Alright, potentially everyone," He corrected himself.

I shook my head in disbelief as I scooped up some cereal on to my spoon before shoveling it into my mouth.

This was going to be a long day, I could already _tell_.

Why did I decide to get out of bed, again?

* * *

I took a shower, and just as I was just walking into the living room, you know, _minding my own business,_ I felt a sudden stabbing pain in my neck.

"Ow!" I hissed as my hand went flying to where the pain was coming from. I pulled my hand back, only to see it covered in a little blood.

"What was that?" Rebekah asked as she walked over to me.

"Hell if I know," I answered as I rubbed the blood in between my fingers. "I felt like I was just stabbed."

The two of us looked over to each other, trying to make sense of what was happening.

We couldn't, so I just grabbed a book as I sat down on the couch. I heard the front door open, and Hayley walked in with a bunch of grocery bags on her ams.

"Do you have _any_ idea how hard it is to shop for you?" She asked as she made her way into the kitchen. "One minute, you text me asking to bring home peanut butter, and then the next, when I ask if you want crunchy or smooth, you tell me that you hate peanut butter!"

"So, you _didn't_ bring me any peanut butter?" I inquired.

"No," She answered.

I growled. "Why not?! I _love_ peanut butter!"

Hayley looked over to Rebekah as the two women shared annoyed looks. "I don't know if I can take five more months of this."

* * *

I sent Hayley back to the store to buy peanut butter (and she bought me the wrong brand of pickles), so I was sitting by myself in the living room, debating if I wanted to call Matt when Rebekah walked in, holding a bowl full of fruit. "Time to give the little demon spawn a snack!"

I rolled my eyes as I rubbed my stomach gently. "You know, I _really _wish you wouldn't call my kid that. Or better yet, I wish you wouldn't call your _niece_ that."

"Oh, sorry, have you picked another name yet?" She asked as she held out the bowl towards me. Hmm, she made a good point. I hadn't started thinking of names yet. "Take one. The plantation's lousy with them."

I grabbed the nicest looking apple I could find. "How's your neck?" Rebekah asked as she put the bowl back down.

"I feel perfectly fine. Which is weird," I told her. I pointed my finger at her. "You know, I _bet_ this is Sophie related."

"Well, do me a favour and don't die on my watch," Rebekah ordered. "I'll _never_ hear the end of it. Especially from Hayley."

I rolled my eyes. "You're a real bitch, aren't you?"

She snorted. "You say that like it's a _bad_ thing."

"Oh no, it's not," I informed her. "I've just accepted it as one of your many qualities."

Rebekah actually laughed. "It's sweet of you to say. Remember it when I'm gone."

Wait, _what_?

"Gone?" I repeated. "What do you mean, '_gone_'? Where are you going?"

"I only came to town to make sure that everything was okay with Elijah," Rebekah told me. "He's fine, and he hasn't punished Klaus for daggering him, so as usual, they'll be thick as thieves and _I'll_ be left to clean up the mess. It's time for me to fly the coop. Besides, you have that little werewolf to take care of you. You'll be fine."

I nodded, lost in thought. Rebekah couldn't _leave_. I had actually grown to _like _her.

But then again...she's a grown woman. A thousand year old grown woman, to be exact. She should be free to do whatever she wanted to in life.

I brought the apple to my mouth to take a bite, but I was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness. "Whoa," I muttered, trying to shake off the feeling.

"What's wrong?" Rebekah asked as she put her hand to my forehead.

"It's probably just morning sickness," I assured her. "I had it really bad today."

"Oh, you're burning up, actually," Rebekah said.

As if I didn't _know _that. I could literally feel every single cell in my body start to heat up as my dizzy feeling grew. I tried to stand up to see if it would help, but it definitely _didn't_.

I wavered, and my knees gave out as I went tumbling to the ground. Rebekah caught me before I could, and using her vampire strength, she lifted me off of the ground as she vamp sped up to my room.

* * *

"_Seriously_?" Hayley asked from her place on the bed next to me as she blotted my sweaty face with a damp towel. "I'm gone not twenty minutes and she starts _dying_?"

"Oh relax, she's not dying," Rebekah retorted. "She's just got a little fever, is all."

"A _little_ fever?" Hayley thundered. "She feels hotter than an _oven_."

"Stop fussing, will you? Elijah will be here any minute," Rebekah threw back.

"Guys?" I breathed heavily. I felt like every inch of my skin was burning. "Girl feeling like she's being microwaved, over here?"

"Hey! Just because you're carrying a baby doesn't mean that you get to _act_ like one," Rebekah said as she walked over to the side of the bed thta I was lying down on. "I'm sure my little niece is healing you up as we speak."

"Hey, I slipped into a coma-I'm still not even sure _how_-I wake up to find that I have no memory of the past two years, I'm pregnant with a hybrid miracle baby, and now I'm blazing hotter than the sun," I complained. "I've _earned_ acting like a baby."

The door to my room busted open, and in walked Elijah, Sophie Deveraux behind him.

Rebekah stood in front of my protectively as Hayley tended to my fever. "What the hell is _she_ doing here?" Rebekah asked with a glare in Sophie's direction.

"I'm trying to help," Sophie tried to assure Rebekah.

"Help?" Rebekah exclaimed. "You're the reason we're in this bloody mess!" She turned to her brother. "Why aren't we unlinked with this witch already, Elijah?"

"Rebekah, let her do what she can," Elijah pleaded.

When Rebekah didn't protest, Sophie continued. "I may know a way to slow the fever down," She explained. "But I'm going to need some special herbs. I'll text you a list."

Elijah gave Rebekah an encouraging smile when Rebekah looked over to him. She turned to Hayley. "Why can't the wolf girl go?"

"Because I need her here," I barely mustered. "Please, Rebekah?"

Rebekah sighed. "Fine. Happy to play the fetch girl," She grumbled as she strode out of the room.

* * *

Have you ever wondered what it's like to feel like you're burning from the inside out?

Well, wonder no longer. I know _exactly _what it feels like, and let me tell you, it feels like _shit_.

At this point, Sophie had Elijah move me to the backyard where the pool was. Hayley removed my cardigan, and slipped me into shorts to help cool me off. She also dipped a towel into water and wrapped it around me, though it wasn't helping much. I still felt like I was going to combust.

Rebekah returned with the herbs, and she was helping Hayley keep me cooled down. "Elijah, she's getting worse!" Rebekah told him.

Elijah peeled his jacket off. "We need to do this _now_," He demanded, and he came over and crouched down next to me.

"Get her in the water!" Sophie instructed.

Without hesitation, Elijah jumped right into the pool. I took my towel off, and hoped against hope that my bandage wouldn't come off in the water as I wrapped my arms around Elijah's neck and lowered myself into the water. It did _slightly_ help, but not by much.

"How is her being in the water supposed to _help_ her?" Hayley questioned Sophie.

"Temperature is sky high," I heard Sophie tell her, but my senses started going all funky. My vision started blurring as I pressed myself more into Elijah's side. "And the water mixed with the herbs should cool us down."

Sophie ran into the water towards us. I kept one arm around Elijah's neck as he supported me. "Drink this," Sophie instructed, pushing the cup into my hands.

I grabbed it and drank it without question. Anything to stop the heat.

"We _have_ to get her heart rate down," Sophie told Elijah as I gulped down whatever she had given me. I didn't even _taste _it.

"How do you suggest I do that?" He asked as I continued drinking. Man, it was like this cup would never _end_.

"Hold her," Sophie instructed as I finished the liquid. "It's a natural human remedy to slow down the heart rate and reduce blood pressure."

Before I could even tell what was going on, Elijah reached under water and scooped me up into his strong arms.

"This is never going to work," Rebekah commented.

"Davina will break the link," Elijah insisted as he held me to him tightly, and I clutched at him for dear life. "We just need to give her _time_."

"That's not something that we _have_, Elijah!" Hayley pointed out worriedly.

At this point, my airways got even more constricted. I put my hand to my throat, and it eventually moved down to my chest. "I can't breathe," I managed to choke out. My panic level was reaching it's maximum point as I moved my hand down to my stomach where Baby Gilbert was.

"Take long, deep breaths," Elijah soothed, and I tried doing as he said, but it was _hard_. "Look at me, Juliet," Elijah insisted, and my gaze moved over to him. "Long, deep breaths. Just focus on the sound of my voice."

I nodded as I closed my eyes, Elijah whispering soothing words. I leaned back a little bit to straighten my throat, and focusing on the sound of Elijah's voice _did _help as I took deep breaths. Elijah dipped me more in the water to try and cool me down more.

Just as I started to think things were getting better, the clock inside the house chimed loudly, signaling that it was striking nine o'clock.

And I felt a _piercing_ pain in my stomach.

I screamed as I squirmed in Elijah's arms. I moved my arm from around his neck so that both my arms were wrapped protectively around my middle.

I was losing my baby.

I could feel it.

My baby.

No.

_No._

I heard Hayley call out my name, but I was in too much pain to even _think_. I leaned into Elijah's side as my stomach felt like it was being torn open.

Then, all of a sudden, Sophie gasped, and I felt like a weight had _literally _been lifted off of my stomach.

"I just felt it lift," Sophie confirmed.

I, of course, was still panicking, but I understood what she meant when I started feeling my baby's life getting stronger, her heart beat going back to normal.

Tears of relief flooded down my face as I slipped out of Elijah's hold. I still held on to his shoulders as I floated in the water. My arm was still wrapped around my waist as I turned to face Elijah.

Sophie took her earring out, and pierced a hole in her hand, the tiny wound bleeding.

Elijah gently took my hand, the same hand that Sophie had hurt, and uncurled the tightly wounded fingers to reveal that...

There was nothing.

Not even a scratch.

Sophie Deveraux and I were officially unlinked.

I sobbed in relief as I threw my arms around Elijah's neck. I had no idea where the spontaneous hug came from, but I was so happy that my baby was going to be okay, that I had to celebrate with someone.

Grant it, I could have celebrated with Hayley, but Elijah was near and he felt a bit more...I don't know...fitting?

I finally realized what I was doing, and I slowly pulled back. Elijah and I stared at each other for a second, before he cleared his throat. "Come on, let's get you out of the water."

I snapped out of my daze as he turned me around, and I slowly made my way over to the edge of the pool, where Hayley was waiting for me.

"Elijah," Sophie's voice stopped the Original. "When your brother finds out that the link is broken, he'll kill Agnes."

I stopped where I was, mainly so that I could eavesdrop. No one tells me _anything_ around here.

"I _know_ that you don't owe me anything," Sophie continued. "But _please_, don't let him kill her."

Elijah didn't say anything as he sped out of the water.

"Elijah!" Sophie protested. "She's our only access to the power that we need to _survive_. Promise me that you'll stop him!"

We all watched as Elijah reached into his jacket pocket and took out his phone. He pressed a couple of buttons before he brought the phone up to his ear. "It's me, where are you?" He asked the person, and he waited for a response. "No, no, don't hurt her. I'll be there shortly."

He hung up as he turned to Sophie. "I'll make you one last promise. I won't let my brother kill Agnes."

Sophie sighed in relief as Elijah grabbed his jacket and his shoes as he left. She started making her way out of the water, but before she could get out, I grabbed her arm roughly. "Listen, I knew you were just using me to save your people," I whispered. "But try something like this again, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

With that, I walked up the steps of the pool, where Hayley was waiting for me with a dry towel and a blanket. She wrapped the towel around me first, and then wrapped the blanket around me.

Whoa. I just openly threatened someone. That is _not_ like me. Usually I'm super forgiving, even if I've done nothing wrong.

But this woman was messing with my baby. And _no one_ messes with my baby.

As I walked back into the house, I caught a peek in the reflection of the glass door.

My bandage was miraculously still in place.

* * *

"So you and the baby are both okay?" Elena asked for the billionth time.

I rolled my eyes as I wrapped my sweater tighter around me. It's ridiculous. Less than an hour ago I was boiling hot, and now I was freezing cold. I was the weirdest person _ever_. I had called up my sister because I had made a promise to he that I'd tell her anything that happened that was related to the baby, and, well, I _did_ make a promise. "Yes, Elena, we're both just fine."

She sighed in relief. "Thank God."

I nodded. "Yup. I couldn't be more thankful right now."

"I know how you feel. Well, sort of," She said. "And how are you feeling about Bonnie?"

I sighed. "I have to move on with my life, Elena. Bonnie would want that for me."

"I know," Elena replied.

Before I could say anything, the doorbell rang. "Oh, someone's at the door. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, bye," She said, and we both hung up. I threw my phone on to the couch as I made my way over to the door. I opened it, and I recognized it to be that Josh kid that occasionally comes over to inform Klaus about Marcel's plans. Apparently, he was looking for Klaus.

"I wish I could help, but I can't," I tried telling him.

He rolled his eyes. "I've been trying to find him all day. Marcel knows that Klaus lied about where he was living."

I rolled my eyes, too. "Do I look like a freaking _secretary_?"

"Fine!" He exclaimed. "Just, please tell him to call me."

"Okay, fine," I agreed. I closed the door, and I was about to go upstairs to take a hot bath when there was another knock on the door.

I groaned in annoyance. "What the hell, Josh?" Would the kid never leave me alone? I opened the door, and when I swung it open, the person on the other side was _not_ Josh.

It was a dark skinned man, with a mischevious grin on his face. "Hi there. I'm Marcel. I don't think we've met."

_Marcel_? _This_ was the guy that Klaus had been trying to overthrow?

Uh, oh.

Girl pregnant with the hybrid child + enemy of the father of my child = not good.

"Hi," I squeaked back. "My name is Juliet. It's nice to meet you. But, if I may ask, what are you doing here at such a late hour?"

"I was wondering if Klaus was home," He asked politely.

I shook my head. "Um, he's not home at the moment, actually. I could tell him that you stopped by, if you want."

"Actually, do you mind if I come in and wait for him?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," I stammered.

"Why not?"

I really know how to drive myself into a corner, don't I?

"Um, it's really late, and I was about to head to bed," I told him. "And it'd be totally rude if I just let you into the house while I went to sleep."

Marcel grinned. "A girl with manners. Alright, I'll come back another time. Be sure to tell him that I stopped by."

"I will." I firmly nodded.

"It was nice meeting you, Juliet," Marcel said.

"Likewise."

With that, I shut the door, and I turned around and leaned my back against it, sliding to the ground. Holy _shit_.

I really shouldn't be left alone.

There was yet _another _knock at the door, and I rolled my eyes as I turned around to answer it.

When I opened the door, though, there was no one there. Scrunching up my eyebrows, I stepped outside on to the porch to see if some stupid kid was trying to pull a prank on me.

Big mistake.

It was a big mistake, because the next thing I knew, I was hit over the head with a blunt object, and the force of the hit sent me into immediate unconsciousness as I crumbled to the ground.

* * *

**TBC...**

**We all know who kidnapped her, right?**

**This new revelation about Jules shall be explained next chapter, and then more in depth as we go on in the story.**

**And look! We got Kluliet (Klaus/Juliet) scenes before she went to Mystic Falls for Bonnie's funeral and after.**

**And we also got some Jelijah (Juliet/Elijah) scenes!**

**All in all, pretty good chapter!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	8. Bloodletting

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** I really don't know why it's taken me so long to write this episode, but here it is!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I eventually began regaining consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in the back of a truck. My head pounded as I tried pushing myself up, and that's when I noticed that my hands _and_ my feet were tied up.

I groaned in annoyance. So much for constant protection. I was kidnapped from my own _house_.

I looked down at my stomach. "Don't worry, Baby Gilbert. Mommy's going to get us out of here."

I immediately started searching for escape routes, and the only plausible way was to try and break the glass on the back door. Using all the strength that I could muster, I kicked it.

All the strength that I could muster turned out to be a _lot_. The glass easily cracked from the force of my kick. So I kicked at it again, and it shattered.

The car suddenly stopped, so whoever kidnapped me obviously knew I was awake. I braced myself for whoever it was, and readied my leg to kick them in the face. When the back door opened, I immediately tried kicking the person in the face, but they caught me by the leg.

"Seriously?" The voice asked, and my stomach dropped all the way to the ground when I realized that I _recognized_ this voice.

I knew who this person was.

This person and I had spent endless nights watching movies, binge watching TV shows, and working out together to keep us both in shape. It was someone I saw at my best friend's funeral a week ago.

"Tyler?" I breathed in surprise.

"You don't want to fight me, Jules," Tyler told me. "You know you can't beat a hybrid."

Wait, Tyler was a hybrid, like the baby? He was part werewolf, part vampire?

Well, I say, screw Tyler. I was getting out of here.

I tried to get up to run, but Tyler tightened my restraints. "Tyler, what the hell?" I shrieked as I struggled. "Let me go, you no good, betraying, piece of-"

I didn't get to finish my sentence as he grabbed me roughly by the arms. "Shut up," He growled, and even through my thrashing, he managed to throw me over his shoulder.

"Tyler Lockwood, put me down right _now_!" I screamed, kicking my legs and hitting him in the back, but he seemed unfazed.

I kept fighting as he carried me off into the forest.

Eventually, I gave up on fighting, and the sun started to come up as he carried me. It was close to the bayou where I was attacked by the witches, but it was also more part of the forest.

I felt myself being put down, and I looked all around me as I brought my arms and legs in. Tyler had brought me to a little cottage by the water, though I didn't know why.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked.

"The armpit, Louisiana," Tyler answered as he pulled out a knife.

My stomach immediately tightened as I put my hands in front of my stomach. "What the hell are you gonna do with that?"

"That depends on _you_," He told me, and he cut the restraints on my legs so that I could walk again.

"Hey, _you_ attacked _me_, remember?" I growled as I stood up. "You ambushed me on my own front porch."

"It's not _your_ porch," Tyler dismissed. "It's _Klaus's_. You're still with that psycho, even after what he did to us. A _long _way from the girl that I grew up with."

I rolled my eyes. "Technically I'm not with the psycho anymore," I informed him. "And so much has happened since the last time I properly talked to you. And by so much, I mean a _shit ton._"

"You mean like how you're pregnant?" He asked, and my stomach dropped. I didn't tell Tyler about the pregnancy. I _know_ I didn't, because Caroline had told me that Tyler and Klaus had a rough past, I thought it'd be best to wait until the baby was actually _born _to show Tyler how cute she was.

"A hybrid baby," He said as he shook his head in disbelief, looking down at Baby Gilbert. "Yeah, I know all about it. I suspected it when I saw you at Bonnie's funeral after what Jeremy said. Also, I've been roaming around the bayou, asking questions. Let me tell you what I've learned."

Tyler yanked my sweater sleeve down, and pulled off the bandage that was covering the moon mark. He roughly grabbed my shoulder as he turned it towards me. "This crescent birthmark means you come from a big shot family," He explained. "Some kind of royalty to the werewolves of this reagent, and right here," He gestured at the property all around us. "It's all that's left of them."

Wait, _what_?

"Why does _everyone_ think that I'm a werewolf?" I questioned in disbelief. "Tyler, I'm _not_ a werewolf."

"Yes, you are," He threw back. "And the only reason why you _never_ showed signs of being a werewolf is because you're also related to powerful witches from around here, who put a spell on you to hide your werewolf powers until you were in the presence of someone in your pack, so that they knew that you'd be safe as long as that person was with you."

"And who, pray tell, is in my pack that made my super secret werewolf powers come up?" I asked sarcastically.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but obviously you're in their presence. Why do you think your senses are suddenly heightening? Why do you think you're suddenly super strong? There's no way you could have broken that glass if you were a human. Only thing is, you haven't triggered the werewolf curse yet, because we both know you're too innocent to kill anyone."

My stomach dropped as I realized how right he sounded. Maybe I _was_ a werewolf. It explained why the vampires thought that I smelled like a werewolf. At first I thought it was just my baby, but after being in the presence of my pack member, my blood must have started transitioning into werewolf blood. And I _was_ suddenly sensitive to everything. I could start picking up private phone conversations, I could smell food being cooked in the kitchen from the other side of the house, I could see in the dark. I just thought that I was taking on traits to protect my baby. But I hadn't triggered the curse yet, and I really didn't want to.

But Tyler also said that I was related to witches. Did that make me half werewolf, half witch?

I looked around the cottage, and my eyes locked with a random woman's in the forest. I looked at her shoulder, and she had the same mark as me, but it looked like she had tried to get rid of it, and all that was left was a scar.

"Hey, help me!" I begged as I pushed past Tyler. But when she heard me speak, she took off into the woods. Why was she running away? If we were _related_, she should be _helping_ me.

"They can't help you," Tyler said. "They're in the woods, hiding because they have been persecuted for decades by vampires."

I closed my eyes, trying not to let my panic bubble over. People should be looking for me at this point. Where was Hayley? She freaked out if I was in the _bathroom _for too long!

When I opened my eyes, I nearly screamed when I saw a large and scary looking man towering over me. He looked over to Tyler as he pointed to me. "Is this her?"

"Yeah, Dwayne," Tyler answered. "Get her inside."

"Hey, wait!" I protested as Dwayne grabbed me by the arm. "No! Tyler! Tyler!"

Dwayne pushed me into the house, and nearly threw me on the ground as he chained me up to the oven that was inside. I groaned in frustration as I jiggled my arm around, trying to break free.

The door opened, and Tyler walked in. I immediately fought harder. "Tyler, come on! You _can't_ do this! I'm your friend, remember? Does binge watching _Breaking Bad_ together suddenly mean _nothing_ to you?"

"You stopped being my friend after you sided with Klaus," Tyler said.

I gave him a look. "Need I remind you that I helped you and Hayley unsire Klaus's hybrids, putting my own life in jeopardy?"

He rolled his eyes. "You only did that because you were pissed at Klaus when you agreed to help."

"I don't even _remember_ why I could have been pissed at Klaus, because I have no memories of the past two years!" I exclaimed. "I _don't _remember what Klaus could have possibly done to you to make you hate him so much, I _don't _remember you turning into a hybrid, and I _don't _remember helping you unsire hybrids! Hell, I don't even remembering conceiving my own baby!"

Tyler gave me a look. "You don't?"

"Uh, no! I don't even know what the difference between a werewolf, a vampire, and a hybrid even _is_."

"Well, all you need to know about hybrids is that Klaus and I are the only ones left," He said. "Which is why we're here."

"Whatever you're planning, you might wanna decide against it," I advised him. "You should probably know that the whole Original family plus Hayley have all made some sort of pact or something to keep me and the baby safe. And Hayley is particularly vicious when it comes to our safety. So if you hurt me, they'll _all_ kill you."

For one second, I saw a sort of sadness in Tyler's eyes. "What makes you think I'm afraid to die? My dad's dead, my uncle's dead, Klaus _killed_ my mother, and Caroline and I broke up. I have _nothing_."

My heart cracked at the news of Mayor Lockwood, Mason, and Carol's deaths. Mayor Lockwood was always a nice guy, always giving Tyler and I a hard time whenever I was over, saying that we liked each other. Mason was funny, he was always in the mood for a joke. And Carol Lockwood was possibly the _nicest _lady you would ever meet. It hurt even more knowing that Klaus was the one to kill her.

Now I get part of why he hated Klaus so much.

The door opened before either of us could say anything, and Dwayne walked in. "You ready for this?" Tyler asked him, and Dwayne nodded.

"Let's do it," He agreed.

I didn't understand why they were talking about, and then I saw Tyler pull out a needle.

"You _better_ be giving yourself an insulin shot," I said.

Tyler didn't say anything as Dwayne came over and grabbed me so that he could hold me still. I still fought to get out of his grip, though. "What the hell are you doing? _Tyler_!"

He came at me with the needle, and I started shaking my head. "Tyler, don't! _Please_ don't do this!" I begged.

"Klaus destroyed _everything_ good in my life," Tyler growled. "So I'm going to take away the one thing he wants most."

"Tyler, please, no!" I tried one last time, but Tyler was too far gone.

He stabbed me in the stomach with the syringe, right where Baby Gilbert was. I screamed in pain and fear for my baby as he pulled the plunger, taking my blood out. I was forced to let him do it as Dwayne kept me still.

Tyler pulled the needle out, and the tiny wound immediately closed. Dwayne let go of me, and I tried pushing myself as far away from the two of them as I could. I put my hand to my stomach, as if I was asking Baby Gilbert if she was okay. I caressed my stomach as I blinked tears back.

Tyler then took the syringe filled with my blood, and jabbed the needle into Dwayne's neck, injecting him with the blood. And two seconds after, he snapped Dwayne's neck, killing him.

I screamed in terror as Dwayne's body fell to the ground. I looked back up at Tyler, who seemed unfazed as he reached down and grabbed Dwayne's body, pulling him away from me.

"What the _hell_ did you do that for?" I thundered.

Tyler rolled his eyes at me. "Don't get all judgy. He volunteered."

"To die?" I questioned.

"Dwayne is a werewolf who died with your blood in his system," Tyler explained as he pointed at the dead werewolf's body. "The same blood that you share with your hybrid baby."

Wait, hold up. Hayley told me that to make a vampire, you have to give them your blood, and then kill them. Then, they'll wake up in transition, when they feed off human blood, completing the transition.

Why couldn't it be the same for a _hybrid_, a half vampire?

"You're trying to make him a hybrid," I breathed. I shook my head in disbelief. "But Hayley told me that only Klaus could make hybrids, and that he needed Elena's human blood to do so. Elena's not a human. Nor is that Klaus's blood in Dwayne's system."

"I ran with wolf packs all over the country," Tyler said. "One of them was tight with a witch. She had a nightmare vision about your baby and how Klaus can use the baby's blood to make more hybrid slaves."

"What do you mean, 'slaves'?" I asked.

"Hybrids are creatures that are so grateful to their sires for giving them vampirism so that they can turn only when they want to that they'll do anything their sire says," Tyler explained. "Or protect their sires. When you helped me and Hayley undo those bonds with Klaus, we were unlinking the hybrids from him."

I returned to his original point. "I am ready to tear out the hearts of every single witch alive so that they won't have any more stupid visions about my baby," I growled. "It's just a freaking _baby_!"

"Maybe, maybe not," Tyler said as he walked towards me. "That's where Dwayne comes in. You see, he was happy to be the test case. If you haven't noticed, these people don't have much to live for. They all want the chance to become the superior species. The trouble is, all hybrids are sired to Klaus. They'd follow his every move." Tyler reached into his bag, and revealed a long knife. He put the knife on the stool that was a little bit away from me. "No way would I let that happen."

"What makes you think that Klaus just _knows_ what the baby's blood will do?" I asked, but, now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

"What do you think?" Tyler retored. "Klaus Mikaelson, killer of men, women, and puppies, all of a sudden wants to be a daddy? Or, he's got hidden motives. Hybrids can walk in the sun, their bite is _lethal_ to vampires. They'll take over New Orleans by the end of the week. And you know what's going to stop Klaus then? _Nothing_."

As much as I hated to admit it, it made sense. What Klaus felt for me probably wasn't strong enough to surpass the possibility of hybrids to help him take down Marcel. That's the only reason that he's even _here_, to take back his home.

I was broken out of my thought as Dwayne awoke with a gasp.

Shit, it was true.

Baby Gilbert could at least turn people into vampires.

"You're going to have to feed on her," Tyler instructed Dwayne, pointing at me.

_Feed_ on me? _Hell no_!

"What? No! No, no, no, no!" I protested, but Tyler held me still as he used his knife to make a slash at the side of my neck.

I screamed in pain at the cut, my hand going to the wound. I felt relief at the feeling of the cut closing up already.

However, the scent of the blood was enough to get Dwayne up. With only one attempt at encouragement from Tyler, Dwayne was on me. He grabbed my hand, and pulled it away from my neck so that he had a clear access. He bared his new found fangs as he sank them into my neck.

I didn't know what it was like to be fed off of until today. And it freaking hurt like _hell_. I literally felt the life being drained from me, and I screamed until Dwayne unlatched himself from me.

Tyler tried to calm Dwayne down, and he dropped the knife as Dwayne ran outside, Tyler on his heels. I gave myself five seconds to recover, and I tried to get to the knife that he had dropped. Unfortunately, it was _just _out of my reach.

However, there was broken bits of wood next to the oven. And if Tyler was part vampire, he would still be affected by wooden stakes, right?

I didn't give myself a second chance to think about it as I grabbed a piece of the wood, hiding it behind my back so that Tyler didn't have a chance to see it.

Tyler walked back in, and by the look on his face as he looked down at my stomach, I knew it had worked.

"He's a hybrid, isn't he?" I asked. "It worked."

Tyler didn't give me a proper answer as he said, "If Klaus gets a hold of you, if he gets _that kid_, then he wins."

"Tyler, I don't know what you think, but you're getting the wrong impression about Klaus," I told him. "He loves me. I'm not sure if it's _love _love, but he _does_ care about me. Now, I may not feel the same way, but he would kill a thousand vampires before he let me get hurt."

Tyler reached down and picked up the knife again. "As soon as that baby is born, he's going to take it away from you and he'll make more hybrid monsters. Slaves who would do everything that he says," He continued as he started walking towards me.

I swallowed thickly as I looked down at the knife in Tyler's hand, that was conveniently positioned towards my stomach. "Tyler," I breathed, my voice shaking. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, there _has _to be another way. I know you, and you are _not_ like this." I shook my head at him. "Would you really _kill_ a baby? Especially the baby of one of your _best friends_? What would Caroline say if she found out that she won't be an Aunt Caroline anymore because _you_ killed her niece?" I threw in his face.

Tyler's face softened for two seconds, and I used those two seconds to my advantage as I stabbed him-right in the stomach, which I found quite poetic-with the piece of wood, causing him to scream in pain. He dropped the knife in surprise.

I pushed myself all the way into the corner and as far away from Tyler as I could as he pulled out the stake. "That was stupid," He groaned.

The door suddenly opened, and Dwayne walked in, a look of determination on his face. "Get away from her," He demanded.

"What do you care?" Tyler barked.

"I said, _get away from her_," Dwayne growled.

What was _up_ with him? He was acting really weird. He was suddenly weird protective of me...

As if he were so _grateful _to me that he would rather die than see me hurt.

Oh my _God_.

Dwayne was sired to _me_.

"You got what you wanted, now get lost!" Tyler ordered, taking my away from my epiphany.

This is my only time window, and it was time to act fast. "Dwayne, he said that he was going to kill me and my baby," I said quickly, gaining Dwayne's attention as he looked over to me. "He said that he was going to kill you, too." Okay, that second part was a lie, but I was desperate. "He said that hybrids were too dangerous to live. You have to stop him. You have to protect me and my baby. _Stop him_."

"Shut up!" Tyler shouted, but as if on cue, Dwayne grabbed Tyler from behind, turned him around, and launched him to the other side of the room.

While Tyler was distracted with Dwayne, I was no free to reach over and grab the knife that was now within my grasp, and cut myself loose. As I stood up to run, I had to conceal my scream as Tyler shoved his hand into Dwayne's chest, probably planning on yanking his heart out.

I didn't stick around to find out.

The knife tightly grasped in my hand, I bolted out of the cottage. I prayed that my werewolf speed would come up quickly like my strength did, but I ran at a half human-half werewolf speed as I made my way deeper into the forest.

I attempted to find any means of civilization so that I could get to a phone and call Hayley, but unfortunately, I was in a bayou, and bayous were all _trees and swamps._

My new hearing picked up footsteps behind me, so I ducked behind a tree to conceal me. There was twigs snapping, and I feared the worst: that it was Tyler, and I would have to hurt my friend.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. Then, I whirled around to stab whoever it was, but someone grabbed my wrist before I could do any serious damage.

"Forgive me," Elijah said. "I thought you were in danger. It appears I was mistaken," He finished with a little smile.

I dropped the knife and nearly sobbed with relief. I launched myself at Elijah, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. "You would _not_ believe the shitty day that I've been having." I pulled back. "Where's Hayley?"

"We had to split up," He answered. "She's looking for you on the other side of the bayou."

"We need to find her," I said. "There's something that you both need to know about the baby."

* * *

I paced the forest floor as I explained to Elijah everything that Tyler had said to me about me being a werewolf, me being a witch, and that the baby can sire hybrids as we waited for Hayley.

"I didn't want to believe it, but it makes a lot of sense," I said. "The baby's blood can't be that strong so that it smells like a werewolf. I just don't know who my pack member is." I huffed. "And what about the baby? Klaus _had_ to have known. I mean, why else would he care? He doesn't want a baby; he just wants her to make more hybrids." I sat down on one of the tree trunks. "But the way that Dwayne was acting made me think that he was sired to _me_. And I have got no idea how that works."

Elijah remained silent throughout the whole explanation. "I should take you home." Was all that he said.

"If you won't, I will," A new voice said, and Elijah turned around to see Hayley standing behind him.

I smiled in relief as I ran up to her, throwing my arms around her neck. She did the same thing to me.

"Thank God, you're all right," She said. She pulled back. "What the hell even _happened_?"

"Tyler Lockwood happened," I explained. "Hayley, the baby can make sired hybrids. When Tyler found out, he kidnapped me so that he could test the theory out, and then kill her."

"What?" Hayley breathed. "Are you okay? Are you both okay?"

"Other than having my neck cut and having my baby's blood drawn, I'm fine," I said sarcastically.

Hayley hugged me one more time. "We need to get you home."

"Home to what?" I asked. "To the father of my child who is only using her to take over the world?"

"Juliet," Elijah started, and Hayley and I both looked over to him. "Regardless of my brother's intentions, mine remain the same. I said that I would protect you, even, if need be, from Klaus himself."

"And I said that I would take care of you," Hayley said, wrapping her arm around me.

I sighed, looking at the two of them. They were right. As long as I had them, Baby Gilbert and I would be safe.

* * *

Elijah, Hayley, and I made our way back to the cottage where Tyler had taken me, and found Klaus walking out the front door.

"There you are," He said. Klaus took notice of me. "I see you found the miracle maker. Perhaps you can shed a little light on the situation. _This_," He kicked Dwayne's body to the ground, and I visibly flinched. "Would appear to be the body of a hybrid."

"His name was Dwayne," I told him bitterly.

Klaus shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him at all. "Well, whoever it was, I didn't sire him. Any idea how that's possible?"

Hayley stomped towards Klaus. "As if you didn't know!"

However, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back before she could do anything. The last thing I need is for Hayley to do something stupid and her get hurt.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "You two are so close. It's incredibly annoying."

Elijah stepped forward so that he was standing in front of me and Hayley, and pushed me back so that I was standing behind her.

"Well, come on, then," Klaus encouraged. "What horrible accusation have you conspired to levy against me?"

"Tyler Lockwood brought Juliet here to test a theory," Elijah started. "That the blood of her child could be used to sire hybrids. He claims that you knew that. Furthermore, you intended to use this knowledge to build an army."

Klaus's angry expression grew deeper as he growled. "And, of course, you all assume that it's true. I mean, why _else_ would I show any interest in my own flesh and blood?" He asked rhetorically. "A heartbroken little crybaby points his finger at me and my own brother falls in line, eager to believe it. How quickly you assume the worst."

"Oh, spare me your indignation," Elijah spat. "When have you ever demonstrated any kind of concern towards Juliet or her child, beyond your own selfish pursuits?" He asked. "And what was it that you once said to me? 'Every King needs an heir'," He sneered, imitating his little brother's voice.

"My big brother," Klaus began. "So, you doubt my intentions? Well, I can't say I'm surprised. Standing next to the noble Elijah, how can I be anything but the lesser brother?" He asked, looking directly at me, and I squirmed uncomfortably. "A liar, a manipulator, a bastard."

Somehow, Klaus's anger and frustration was morphed into hurt and pain. I could see it in his eyes.

He didn't know about the baby. He really didn't.

Klaus stepped off of the house, and walked right up to Elijah. "That's all I am to you, isn't it? And Rebekah. And judging by the way Juliet hangs on to your every word, it's clear that she feels the same way! No doubt my child will as well."

I felt guilty. I did. I shouldn't have automatically assumed that's all that Baby Gilbert was to Klaus. Klaus did love me, once upon a time. If circumstances were different, then I probably would be standing on Klaus's side, not Elijah's.

"Brother, if I-" Elijah tried, obviously regretting his words.

Klaus grabbed Elijah's shoulder roughly, pointing a menacing finger at him. "We have said all that needs to be said, _brother_," He growled, and he let him go.

Elijah did nothing as Klaus took a few steps back, holding his hands out. "I'll play the role I've been given."

He turned to leave, but before anybody could do anything, he rushed back to Elijah, and viciously bit into his neck.

Hayley and I screamed, and I reached for Eliajh as Klaus let him drop to the ground. Instead of the wound closing up like I thought it would, it bled and the area around it began turning an ugly shade of green.

_Hybrid bites are lethal to vampires_, I thought, remembering Tyler's words.

"What the hell is the _matter_ with you?!" I shouted at Klaus as Elijah stood up.

Klaus just wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You two enjoy each other's company. You'll have much to bond over, once the hallucinations and dementia set in. Consider that bite to be my parting gift to you three."

Elijah cringed as his hand went to his neck. Klaus just passed by the two of us as he left, walking deep into the forest.

Hayley looked over to us. "What now?"

* * *

Elijah, Hayley, and I shifted through the stuff in the cottage. When I explained to them that this cottage was all that was left of my birth family, they both understood my curiosity, especially Hayley.

However, I found it hard to concentrate as I looked through a stack of papers. Elijah had been bitten by a hybrid, and Tyler had said that werewolf bites are lethal to vampires. Didn't that mean that Elijah was going to die?

"You're staring," Elijah smirked, and I snapped out of my daze to realize that yes, I _had_ been staring at Elijah.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. I cleared my throat. "I just keep thinking that-"

"That I'm going to drop dead at any second?" Elijah finished, and I sheepishly smiled.

"Something like that," I answered, and I picked up a stack of photographs.

"The bite won't kill me," He explained. "Like Niklaus himself, it's more of a nuisance than anything."

I couldn't help the giggle that formed in my chest. I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling, since it was a serious situation. But Elijah could be funny if he wanted to.

"That's good, because I'm not about walking home," I told him, and he smiled at my decision. "Thanks, by the way. To the both of you. You really didn't need to stay and help me paw through my family's old stuff."

"We know," He told me. "But you said that the people of this village were your birth family. These people are the only family that you were willing to let into your life here. I understand that."

"You're talking about Klaus, aren't you?" I said, though it felt like more of a statement than a question.

Elijah sighed. "Perhaps I was too willing to condemn him. In the thousand years that we have been together, my brother has committed numerous unspeakable acts. But, then again, so had Rebekah. So have I."

"So did I, the last time I was in Cabo," Hayley threw in.

"That's the thing," I stated. "Everyone does bad things. Now, I've never killed anyone, but once, I was super jealous of this really pretty dress that my parents had gotten Elena, so I spilled nail polish on it," I told him, and Elijah cracked a smile. "That's pretty bad, as far as I go. Only difference is, most people die before the list gets embarrassing. And I'm only going off of what I've seen of Klaus so far, but don't compare yourself to him, not even for a second." I took a step closer to Elijah. "You're better than him."

Elijah and I stared at each other, and the air around us suddenly became tighter than a boa constrictor choking its prey. No, it was too awkward for me. I cleared my throat as Elijah and I broke our stare. I dipped my head down, brushing my bangs behind my ear. "It's really hot in here. I think I need some air."

Hayley nodded. "You're right, that's a good idea." She stepped outside with me, the two of us leaving Elijah inside the house. I let out a pent up sigh as I plunkered down on to the steps.

"That was...interesting," Hayley finally said, and I harshly nudged her.

"Hayley!" I scolded as I whispered. I felt my face burn up. "Vampire hearing, remember?"

I placed my hand on the ground, and I was surprised when it brushed against cool leather. I turned around, and saw that it was some sort of Bible.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I picked it up, looking it over. I looked all around me to see if anyone was around, but no one was. But someone _had_ to have dropped this off, because it wasn't here when we were out here before.

"What the hell is that?" Hayley asked.

"I have no idea," I answered as I heard the door open. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw Elijah coming outside.

"What's going on?" He asked us.

"Someone left this," I answered as I stood up. "This wasn't here before."

I started flipping through it as Hayley and Elijah watched on. "What is it?" Elijah asked.

"A Bible, I think," I answered, looking over at them. I kept flipping the pages, until I came to pages and pages and _pages_ of names. It was some sort of family tree. "It has a family tree, that looks like it goes back for generations."

I came to the last page, and there were two names that were at the bottom. It looked like no one had added to it after. The names were Andrea Labonair, born June 6th, 1991, and Eumelia Christos, born January 8th, 1993.

But, January 8th, 1993 is _my_ birthday.

"Who is this?" Elijah asked. "Who is Eumelia, and Andrea?"

"I think I am," Hayley and I said at the same time. We snapped our heads towards each other.

"January 8th, 1993 is the day _I_ was born," I supplied.

"June 6th, 1991 is the day _I_ was born," Hayley confirmed.

Wait a second...

This was a family tree. Both Hayley and I's birth dates were in it, though under different names.

_ "And the only reason why you never showed signs of being a werewolf is because you're also related to powerful witches from around here, who put a spell on you to hide your werewolf powers until you were in the presence of someone in your pack, so that they knew that you'd be safe as long as that person was with you," _Tyler's words rang in my ears.

Hayley had been protective of me since Day One. Like we were part of the same _pack_. Pack members take care of and protect each other. Baby Gilbert and I were a part of Hayley's _pack_.

_Now_ I remembered where my birth mark was from.

I pulled my sleeve down, and turned my shoulder in Hayley's direction so that she could see it.

Her eyes practically bugged out of her head as she pulled _her_ sleeve down, revealing the exact same birth mark.

It all made sense now.

"I think things just got a whole lot more interesting," I thought aloud.

* * *

**TBC...**

**SO! The school year has started, so that means homework, and assignments, and not a lot of time to write.**

**That being said, I still will try my hardest to get caught up with this story and Ripples of Reality before the next respective seasons hit.**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	9. The River In Reverse

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** I really don't know why it's taken me so long to write this episode, but here it is!

PS. I was thinking, and I think it's high time for this story to have a poster. Anyone wanna make it?

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Let's get one thing perfectly clear.

I was _not _a doctor.

So I had no idea what I was doing while I tried to take care of Elijah. Klaus had bitten him, and Elijah had gone from perfectly fine to sweating bullets in less than a few hours.

Well, _he _promised to take care of _me_. I was simply returning the favour.

Hayley went out to see if she could find some help from any of the witches, and I stayed behind to watch over Elijah.

He started coughing violently from the spot where he laid. The best thing for him to do would be to drink something, right?

Well, water would really do nothing. He should have something to drink that would heal him.

And that meant only one thing.

_Mommy's counting on you_, I thought to myself as I made a small cut on my wrist. I gritted my teeth as I titled my wrist into a glass so that the blood would fall in. The wound closed up, and I took the glass over to where Elijah was. I couldn't help but notice the sickly pale he was turning, and my stomach turned.

"Here, drink this," I said as I sat down next to him.

Elijah sniffed the contents, and immediately shook his head. "No."

"Why?" I asked, looking down into the cup. Did he not like my blood type? What was I? O Postive?

"I refuse to drink the blood of a pregnant woman," He spluttered.

I rolled my eyes. "This pregnant woman is offering, it's not like you're chomping through my neck." I moved the glass closer to him. "Drink it."

He sighed, but took the glass from my hands. He took a couple of sips, before another round of violent coughs struck him, making him spew it out of his mouth.

The blood went all over the floor, and went a little on to me. I shivered at the thought of my own blood on me, but I tried to ignore it as I took the glass back from him.

"Forgive me, please," Elijah breathed as he laid back down on the bed.

"It's okay," I assured him, pulling my sweater off. "Remind me to beat your brother's ass when we're done here."

"Yes, remind me to remind you to get in line," Elijah grumbled, and I had to contain my laughs.

The door opened, and Hayley walked in. "Nothing. There is _no one_. Where the hell are all the witches?"

"Probably in the Quarter, where werewolves are banned," I answered.

"It probably doesn't help that we decided to shack up in a swamp either," Hayley added. She nodded her head to Elijah. "Is he feeling better?"

"Not really," I responded. "He can't keep anything down."

"Ladies, I'm sitting right here," He coughed.

"Yes, and you're temporarily incapacitated, so let us talk about taking care of you," I told him as Hayley went over to the table, picking up the Bible that we found.

"Find anything?" I asked her. She looked through the Bible while I looked after Elijah.

She shook her head. "I went through the whole thing. It's just a regular old Bible. With an entry in a family tree, that may or may not be us."

"Well, we have the same birthmark, so we have to be related," I said. The reason the birthmark had been so familiar to me was because I had seen it plenty of times on Hayley's shoulder. And Tyler the Betrayer told me that my mark would have started to show when I was in the presence of one of my pack members, and Hayley was a werewolf. Everything seemed to have fallen into place.

Hayley shook her head. "I have to go get some air. I feel like I'm going to get cooked." She threw the Bible on to the table, and stomped back outside.

Elijah started coughing again, and I was immediately at his side. I helped him sit up, and adjusted the pillow behind him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

Elijah tried to shrug it off, but I knew him. Well, sort of. But he still looked really sick, and it looked like it was only going to get worse. "I'm fine."

I gave him a disapproving stare. "It's not nice to lie, Elijah."

"Juliet, please," Elijah begged. "This fever will make me unstable. And once the hallucinations begin, I'll start to see things. You must leave me here."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "You've dealt with me and my mood swings. The least that I can do is stick around while you have crazy hallucinations to make sure that you don't get yourself killed. And besides, I've got my bodyguard, I'll be fine. Now," I said, tapping the pillow behind him. "Lie down and get some sleep. And I don't want to hear a single argument."

Elijah chuckled. "If you act this strict with me, I'd hate to see how you're going to be with your child."

I wanted to push him (you know, as a joke) but he was sick, so I would save that shove for later. Instead, I gave him an annoyed look. "Just go to sleep, huh?"

He grinned as best as he could as he laid down. I helped him get as comfortable as he could, and his breaths eventually evened as he fell asleep.

The door opened, and I whirled around. Hayley walked in, and she opened her mouth to say something. I quickly put my finger to my lips, and gestured behind me at Elijah.

She immediately nodded in understanding. I walked over to her, and whispered, "Can you watch over him for a second? I need some air."

Again, she nodded, and I stepped outside as she went over to Elijah. I relished in the cool breeze as I sat down on the front steps. My hand unconsciously gravitated to my growing belly, and I rubbed circles around Baby Gilbert as I finally had a minute to myself.

How could things go so crazy in the span of a few months? I'd fallen into a coma, woken up from that coma, and found out that I was pregnant. It wasn't that I wasn't grateful; I was super excited to welcome Baby Gilbert (I really need a name for her) into the world. I just wasn't too sure of what _world_ I was bringing her into.

Also, I knew _nothing_ about pregnancy! Sure, you read about it and watch TV and movies, but that didn't prepare you for the real deal. I always felt like something bad was going to happen to her (and numerous bad things have already happened) and I was in constant fear that someone was coming after her (which has also occurred).

I was brought out of my thoughts when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I stood up, and took a few steps closer to try and identify what it was. It was the same blonde woman from before, who failed to help me when Tyler kidnapped me.

I was half tempted to shout out, "Yeah, thanks for _nothing_,BITCH!" But I controlled myself, and the door opening from behind me stopped me from saying anything at all.

I looked behind me to see Hayley's head poking out. "I bet you have gone all day without eating. You need to eat something."

I looked back at where the woman was, but she was nowhere in sight. I shrugged it off, and followed Hayley inside. It was true, I _was_ hungry.

* * *

I nervously tapped my fingers as I watched Elijah's twitching body. Hayley was in her own world as she made me a sandwich (I was perfectly capable of making my own but she insisted _again_), so she wasn't paying as much attention to Elijah as I was.

He was still asleep, but I could hear him starting to moan and groan in pain. I didn't know if it was pain or hallucinations or whatever, but whatever was happening to him looked like it hurt.

"Jules, he's sleeping," Hayley's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You're allowed to take your eyes off of him for two minutes."

"I know, I know," I muttered as I looked down at my hands. I studied the creases in my hands. "I just feel bad. Elijah is in this mess because of me. You're in this mess because of me. Everyone's in a mess because of _me_."

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that. Don't go play the blaming card. The only reason we're in this mess is because Klaus would rather take over the French Quarter than actually look after the woman carrying his child, the woman who he's claimed to love."

I huffed as I put my chin in my hand. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Well, believe this," Hayley said as she cut my sandwich in half (diagonally, not vertically-God, I love the little things she knows about me). "I am going to be by your side through this whole thing. You can't trust Klaus. You might not even be able to trust Elijah. But me? You can trust me one hundred percent."

"How do I know that?" I asked, tears filling my eyes.

She shrugged. "Because we're family. And I'm not about to lose the only family that I have right now."

I smiled. "So, this is about you, is it?"

Hayley playfully smacked me with a dishtowel. "You're not funny."

"On the contrary, I'm hilarious."

I looked back to Elijah, who looked like he was getting worse by the second.

"You've never actually seen vampire get sick from a werewolf bite, have you?" Hayley asked as she put the plate in front of me.

I shook my head. "If I did, I don't remember." I turned my head in his direction. "How much worse can it get?"

"You don't know the half of it," Hayley informed me. "He's going to get crazy. He's going to hallucinate, and most of the time-especially when it gets even _worse_-he won't be able to break free of them easily. So if he feels angry at his hallucination, he'll stop at nothing to get rid of it. Which is exactly why he wanted you to get out of here. No way would he risk hurting you and the baby."

"I was thinking," I suddenly brought up. "We really need to figure out a name for her. I don't want to be calling her 'the baby' for the next few months. She's a person. She deserves a name."

"We'll start thinking once we're out of this mess," She said. "Though I really like the name Angela. Is it on the table?"

I tapped my fingers on the table. "Yeah, sure. I like Angela."

Before Hayley and I could continue with the name suggestions, Elijah suddenly arched his back, letting out a loud cry of pain. I immediately pushed myself out of my chair, and ran over to Elijah. I lifted his head so that I could sit behind him, and put his head in my lap as I tried to calm him down.

"Hey, shh," I soothed, brushing his sweaty hair back. "It's okay."

I put my hand on his forehead to check his temperature, and I was suddenly sucked into a dream. Or more like a memory, like Elijah had done to tell me his life story.

But instead of seeing any of his family members, I saw a dark skinned woman lying in a bathtub. She had her dark curls pinned up in a bun at the back of her head. She picked up a soapy sponge and ran it along her arm as she stared up at a man, who was most likely Elijah due to where her gaze was looking.

Just as quickly as the memory had invaded my senses, it had disappeared. I blinked once, before looking down at Elijah. His eyes snapped open.

"Celeste?" He breathed, running his hands up and down my arms.

I couldn't help the blush that crawled up my neck as I brought my hand back. Elijah blinked, and it seemed like he had broken out of his hallucination. I looked over at Hayley, who looked just as confused and worried as I was.

I shook my head. "No. Juliet. You know, the girl pregnant with your brother's baby? Yeah, her."

Elijah shook his head. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Clearly," I mumbled, running one hand up my arm. "Celeste, right? She was certainly a hot one, I'll give her that."

"Did I let you enter my thoughts?" Elijah asked, and I nodded.

He struggled to sit up. "No, I should go," He coughed as he sat up. "This is..."

"This is a friend taking care of a friend," I told him. "That's what friends are _for_. And as your friend, you need to know that I'm going to drag you back by the ear if you try to take one step out that door."

Elijah's gazed traveled behind me and out a door beside us. "We're being watched," He pointed out.

Hayley and I exchanged looks, trying to decide if this was just another hallucination or not. Eventually, Hayley went over to the front door and brought the curtains back so that she could take a peek.

Suddenly, she pulled the door open. "Hey!" I could hear her shout, and she disappeared out the door.

I turned my attention back to Elijah, giving him a firm stare. "Lie down, before I _make_ you lie down. Are you really going to go against a pregnant women? Especially a pregnant _me_?"

Elijah didn't argue as he laid back down. Hayley hadn't come back yet, so I just filled a bucket up with water and dipped a cloth into it. Then, I laid the cloth on Elijah's forehead in an attempt to keep his fever down.

And I saw more memories.

I tried really hard not to intrude, but it was kind of hard. I pushed out the images as best as I could, but I got a few glimpses of Celeste, Elijah, I heard a bit about Klaus, and I saw Celeste and Elijah making out.

Which didn't make me feel anything, of course, I have _no_ idea what you're talking about.

"Juliet, please," Elijah begged. "This fever, my mind..." He huffed. "Is being filled with torturous memories. You _have _to leave."

"Elijah, you promised to take care of me," I started. "When you were virtually a stranger to me. Just shut up and let me take care of you, okay? I may not be a nurse, but I'm not entirely useless."

"There are consequences to those who care," Elijah choked out. "I will not have you pay that price."

I rolled my eyes. "Get over yourself. I don't care if you're having weird sex dreams. I just care about you getting better, so shut up and rest." I grabbed the small bucket and took it over to the sink to change the water.

"So what about our visitor?" He asked. "What did she want?"

I shrugged, looking out the window. "Hayley hasn't come back yet, so maybe she caught up with her and is getting answers. With the way she keeps looking at me, my best bet is that she's the one that dropped off the Bible. I want to know why," I said, looking over at him. "For Hayley. She's done so much for me, the least I could do is help her find out about her family."

Elijah nodded. "But aren't they your family too? Go find her, find out about your family."

I shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere. I already have a family. So don't think you can get rid of me, because you can't."

* * *

Maybe a half an hour later, Hayley returned. Apparently, she had chased the woman pretty far in the bayou, but lost her. She was pretty pissed about it, too.

She decided that she needed some air-though I don't know why, she had plenty while she was out there- as I tended to Elijah's fever. He showed me more memories, and again, I tried my best to keep my mind out of his business.

"Celeste," Elijah mumbled. "Celeste, I'm sorry."

I saw Klaus killing men like it was nothing, and Elijah was worried that their father might come back for them if he were to find out that vampires were killing so many people in such a small time frame.

So Klaus said that he had blamed it all on the witches, and they were being all round up to be killed. Elijah got super angry, because one of those witches were Celeste, and he shot his brother in the chest, though it had no effect on him.

Elijah suddenly sat up with a deafening roar, and I pushed myself off of the bed so that I was standing in front of him. He caught his breath, and when I was sure it was safe, I gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Elijah...?"

He whipped my hand off of his shoulder. "Niklaus," He growled, looking up at me. That's when I saw his eyes going red, black veins appearing underneath his eyes. "I'll kill you, you bastard!"

Before I could attempt to bring him out of his hallucination, Elijah grabbed me harshly by the throat and threw me against the wall. I couldn't even call out to Hayley for help because of how tightly he was constricting my airways. And my baby's airway.

"Eli...jah," I choked out. "Stop. The...b..baby..."

Just as I was sure he was going to sink his fangs into my throat, he suddenly groaned in pain. I looked behind him to see the same blonde woman with a stake in her hand that was clearly plunged into Elijah's back.

Elijah's grip went slack, and I tumbled to the ground as he dropped me. He fell to the ground as Hayley came rushing in the front door.

"Juliet?" She breathed, and her eyes widened first at the sight of the blonde woman, and then the sight of Elijah on the ground, with a stake in his back. She ran inside, and wrapped me up in a hug.

"I'm so sorry!" She said. "I went to go look for some firewood."

I hugged her back, but I turned her around so that the two of us were looking at the blonde woman again.

"Hello to you, too," I breathed.

* * *

"So I'm sure you two have questions," the woman started.

Hayley and I were sitting next to each other outside of the shack, a bonfire in front of us. Hayley had found a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders so that I wasn't as cold.

"Only like a thousand of them," Hayley said with an eye roll. She twiddled with the Bible in her hands. "Like who are you, why are you following us, where the hell is everyone and if Jules and I are related and the people in this book really are our family, what happened to them?"

"Technically that's not a thousand," I pointed out.

Hayley gave me a mini glare. "This is not the time for sarcasm, Jules."

"I'm Eve," The blonde woman broke in. "I'm following Juliet because you brought an Original to a werewolf country which is pretty much the same reason why everybody else skedaddled. You and Juliet are cousins through Juliet's mother. Her mother is your father's sister, Hayley. And if you wanna know what happened to the people in that family tree, I can sum it up nice and quick." She sat down, a look of disdain on her face. "Marcel happened."

"What did he do?" I asked. I also couldn't help but think that Hayley and I really _were_ family. That's really great, and not in a sarcastic way.

"He killed most of them," Eve started, and Hayley's face was immediately crushed. "Later, the descendants of the ones who dodged death, he strong-armed a witch into putting a curse on them."

"What _kind_ of curse?" Hayley asked.

"Swap nature around, inside out. Made it so that their natural stay is wolf. They only turn back human on the full moon. We're hunted by the marks we carry. That crescent moon birthmark-that's why I got rid of mine." Eve turned her shoulder so that we could see what remained of what her mark was, which was pretty much nothing. I cringed at the thought of Eve having to rip out her own skin to _save_ the rest of her skin. "I didn't want to get found out."

"Good evening," A new voice broke out, and we all turned to see Elijah standing in front of the shack. Hayley and I both stood up, and Elijah walked over to us. He waved the stake that was buried in his back around in front of Eve. "I think I might have something which belongs to you."

"Elijah, we got this," Hayley assured him.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

He didn't take his eyes off of Eve as he said, "The wound is healed, the fever is broken, but for some strange reason, I have this sharping, lingering sensation in my back."

I turned towards Eve, slipping the blanket off of my back. "We need to get him home, but we'll be back. I know how much more Hayley wants to know," I said, looking over at my cousin. I held out the blanket to her. "I promise we'll be back."

Eve gave us both stern looks. "You two keep those marks covered up," She said, before turning around and stalking off.

"What happened?" Elijah asked once Eve was gone.

Hayley had a dazed look on her face. "We just met a part of our family," She breathed. "_My_ family," She repeated, as if she didn't believe it. She pushed past Elijah, the Bible clutched tightly in her hands.

Elijah looked over at me. "Are _you _okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. I just want to go home. I am _starving_."

Elijah managed to laugh, despite the situation. "What else is new?"

* * *

The sun had risen by the time we had made it back to the plantation, and as soon as Elijah put the car in park, Hayley threw the door open and climbed out. "I have to use the washroom _so bad_," She hissed as she ran out.

Meanwhile, Elijah and I just sat in the car as we watched her run off. "Quite an unusual one, isn't she?" He said.

I shrugged. "I love her for it. You get used to it, really."

It was silent, and I huffed as I drummed my fingers against my legs. "So, thank you for the ride. I was not looking forward to walking. Seriously. Last time I stomped through a bayou I ruined my best shoes."

Elijah chuckled. "Quite the awkward little adventure, wouldn't you say?" He looked over at me and tried to smile, but it ended up turning into a somber look. "I'm sorry that I tried to hurt you. I would never want that."

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm _fine_," I said, a bit sternly. "I was returning a favour."

There was a question that I desperately wanted to ask, but I didn't know if I was overstepping my boundaries by asking it. I eventually decided that life was too short and I went for it. "Will you tell me about what happened to Celeste?" I asked.

"That's not important," He said as soon as her name fell off of my lips.

"Yeah, it kind of is," I retorted. "Over a thousand years worth of memories and Celeste is the one that came through your fever brain."

Elijah still didn't say anything. I sighed. "Look, just because I want to know doesn't mean that you have to tell me. If you don't want to relive the memory, that's fine, but I really would like to-"

I cut myself off as Elijah lifted his hand to my face. He gently pushed my bangs back behind my ear, and cupped the back of my head. I closed my eyes as I waited for the images to come into my head.

When they did, I was horrified.

_ At first all I saw was the bathtub that Celeste had been bathing in earlier, but closer inspection revealed a body underneath the water, and it turned out, that body was Celeste._

_ Elijah stood above her body, taking in her form. He couldn't believe his eyes. He shook his head in disbelief as he reached under the water and grasped Celeste's face, bringing her out of the water. He had hoped that this was some sort of joke, that Celeste would widen her eyes and laugh at how she had fooled Elijah. But she didn't. She didn't move at all._

_ Elijah ran his hand along Celeste's face, his hand trembling as he did so. Celeste didn't move. She didn't react. _

_ Elijah touched his forehead to hers as he finally let himself cry and mourn the loss of his love. He screamed in anguish as he clutched Celeste's body to him._

I jerked my head back, and I was surprised to feel a slight wetness underneath my eyes. I brought my hand up, and wiped at the tears that Elijah hopefully didn't see. Stupid pregnancy hormones making me feel everything doubled.

"It was a cruel and bloody time, to be a witch," Elijah spoke. "Courtesy of my wonderful brother."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "She did because of Klaus?" I said, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"She died because of me," Elijah corrected. "As I cared too deeply for her. I had allowed my brother to slip through my grasp. I loosened the reigns while Celeste consumed my every moment. I had abandoned him in the name of my own happiness. Celeste paid the price."

"Everyone deserves to be happy, Elijah," I told him. "If Klaus is the one that is taking away your happiness, than why are you even _here_? Why are you trying so hard to piece back together a clearly broken family?"

"To me, the very definition of the word 'broken' suggests that something can be fixed," Elijah began, and he turned his head in my direction. "I have a whole eternity to accomplish one single task: my brother's salvation. If I surrender this, then tell me what value would I be to my family, to myself, to..." He slightly hestitated. "To your child?"

My right hand automatically went to where Baby Gilbert was. My left hand, which was already beside Elijah's right, gently skimmed over his fingers in an attempt to comfort him.

"No, Juliet," Elijah sighed. "You've seen what happens."

I gently smiled. "I'm not doing anything. If you don't want a lover for fear of Klaus taking her, then that's fine. But I will be a friend to you, and friends comfort friends." I moved my hand over his, and I was surprised when he let me give it a gentle squeeze. "I am one person that Klaus can't get rid of."

Elijah smiled as I let go of his fingers. I moved to bring my hand back, but he stopped me by grabbing my hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Thank you, Juliet," He said. "Really. Thank you." He opened the car door, and got out.

I huffed when I was sure that he couldn't hear me. "What are friends for?" I mumbled to myself.

I finally got out of the car when I saw Hayley walking out of the house. She was sitting down on the porch as I walked over to her. "What's going on?" I asked.

She nodded her head back towards the door. "Original family meeting. They kicked me out."

I nodded in understanding as I sat down next to her. It was silent for a little while before Hayley spoke up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I said automatically.

"Do you like Elijah?" She asked, super bluntly, may I add.

My jaw slacked. "Hayley!" I said.

"What? It's a valid question," She protested.

"No, it's really not," I whispered, looking at the door worriedly.

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, they're not gonna hear you. They're too caught up in some fight. Trust me, I can hear it. Tell me!"

I huffed, bringing my legs in and tucking my knees under my chin. "I..don't know. I admire his nobleness, I admire how his top priority is family, I admire that he's willing to take care of me whatever the cost." I blushed, trying to keep myself in check. "I like him just fine."

"You are no fun when it comes to feelings and gossip, you know that, right?" She said.

Before I could say anything back, the front door opened, and Klaus walked out. "So sorry to interrupt the girl chat, but you're coming with me, Little Gilbert."

The two of us stood up at same time. "She's not going anywhere with you," Hayley growled.

"I'm sorry, Little Wolf, I don't believe that this concerns you," Klaus spat, walking down the steps.

I rolled my eyes. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Because, Juliet, that child you carry is one of the only things that matters to me," He said. "Now you can fight me on this, but you _will _lose." He walked over to a car, and opened the front passenger seat. "As will anyone else that tries to stop you from getting in this car," He finished, giving Hayley a particular glare.

Hayley and I exchanged looks, but eventually, I turned my head to Klaus. "On one condition."

"You aren't in the position to be making demands, love," Klaus said.

"And I think I am," I retorted. "I _am_ the one carrying your child, remember?"

That shut him up. I took the opportunity to say, "Hayley comes with us."

Klaus rolled his eyes, but opened the door to the backseat. "Get in," He said to her.

Hayley looked over at me, and I just nodded my head. I wasn't going to let Klaus hurt anyone if I could help it.

We both wordlessly walked towards the car, and I slipped into the front seat. I made it a point to grab the door handle and close it myself. I buckled myself in, and turned my head to face out the window.

Where was I getting dragged to this time?

* * *

**TBC...**

**I just wanted to say something.**

**I know a lot of you are hoping this won't be a triangle, and in a way, it won't be. If you look at the situation realistically, it only makes sense that Juliet feels somewhat of an attraction to Elijah. As Anna.B has pointed out, it's pretty inevitable to get attached to someone who's vowed to do everything to protect you and your child, while the father of your child saunters off and makes taking his city back his top priority, not his child.**

**And let's be real here, it's freaking **_**Eiljah**_**. Juliet's lost her memories, not her intelligence and taste in men. **

**I'm not gonna reveal too much but I can say that Juliet is gonna be by herself for a good long while as she prepares to have this baby. These two men aren't **_**her**_** top priority, her **_**baby **_**is. And she is going to do everything possible to take care of and protect her baby. **

**I hope this makes sense! **

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	10. Reigning Pains in New Orleans

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** OMFG THE ORIGINALS SEASON PREMIERE WAS SOOO GOOD! I'M SO EXCITED TO WRITE IT!

And to answer Bella Lugosi's question, the actress is a brunette Aimee Teegarden!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I fiddled with the hem of my shirt as Klaus tapped his glass, gaining everyone at the table's attention.

Klaus had decided to have a celebration dinner to honour the fact that he had reclaimed New Orleans from Marcel. So, Marcel and all of his lackies joined us at the dinner table in the Abattoir where Klaus had taken Hayley and me. Hayley was pretty much the only reason I hadn't tried to kill myself yet.

And, you know, the fact that I was carrying a child helped that factor.

"Let us begin with a toast to our shared gift: immortality," Klaus started. "After a thousand years, one might expect life to be less keenly felt, for its beauties and its sorrows do diminish with time. But, as vampires, we feel more than humans could possible imagine."

Klaus gestured to the waiters that surrounded us, and they went to work. "Insatiable need, exquisite pain..." Klaus continued as each of the servants picked up a knife from the table. They slit their wrists and filled the cups with their blood for the vampires. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I sipped from my water. "Our victories and our defeats." He turned to Marcel, who, to his credit, met his gaze. "To my city, my home again. May the blood never cease to flow."

"And the party never end," Marcel said, raising his own glass.

"To New Orleans!" Diego cheered.

Klaus wickedly grinned. "To New Orleans!"

Hayley rolled her eyes and took a sip of her scotch. I could tell that she wanted to be here just as much as I did: which was not at all. But since Klaus insisted I be there, I insisted she be here. She's the only reason I had kept my sanity so far.

"I understand that some of you may have questions regarding the recent change in leadership," Klaus began, and I caught Marcel's gaze for the briefest second. He looked like he wanted to scream, kill, do _anything_. But he couldn't. The people in this blasted city meant more to him. I turned my attention back to Klaus. "And I invited you here tonight to assure you that you are not defeated. No, my intentions moving forward are to celebrate what we have. What Marcel, in fact, took and built for this true community of vampires."

"What about them?" Diego sneered, looking over at me and Hayley. "The wolves."

Hayley and I looked over to each other, and we had to hold back our eyerolls. I looked over at Diego, and gave him an annoyingly pleasant smile.

"If you had let me finish, Diego," Klaus said, picking up his glass and walking over towards me. "You would know that there is in fact one further other matter that I would like to address. As many of you know," Klaus announced, standing behind me. "The girl is carrying my child. Consequently, I trust you will pay her the appropriate respect. And the other girl," He made a waving gesture at Hayley. "Is a friend of hers that she insists on having around all the time. However, I understand that some of you are concerned by this vicious rumour that I intend to use the blood of our child," He paused to put his hand on my shoulder for dramatic effect, and I rolled my eyes. "to make hybrids. I assure you, I do not."

"Father of the year," Hayley murmured into her glass, and I had to suppress my smile.

"It appears I will have to earn your trust," Klaus declared, walking back to the head of the table while the other vampires nodded in agreement. "Very well, we'll eliminate the root of your anxiety. You see, how can I sire hybrids if there are no more werewolves alive in the bayou to turn?"

At his words, Hayley and I snapped our heads in his direction. "What?" Hayley breathed at the same time as I said, "_Klaus_."

"So, eat, drink, and be merry!" Klaus cheered, ignoring the two of us. "And tomorrow, I suggest you have yourselves a little wolf hunt. Go ahead, have fun. Kill them all!"

The vampires all grinned in victory, but I wasn't focusing on their victory. I was focusing on my cousin.

Tears filled Hayley's eyes as she pushed her seat back. She got up from the chair, and ran from the courtyard.

"Hayley!" I called after her. I jumped up from my chair to run after her, but Klaus was by my side in a second. He grabbed my arm. "Sit, love. You're pregnant, you need a nice meal."

"Let me go, Klaus," I seethed. "I have to go after her."

"Oh, no you don't," Klaus said.

"Yes, I do," I growled. "Unlike you, I don't turn my back on my family."

My words must have had an impact on Klaus, because I was able to wretch my arm free. I gave him one last glare, before running after Hayley. "Hayley!"

I got to her room, and knocked on the door. "Hayley! Open up the door!"

The door opened, and I saw the tears in Hayley's eyes. I immediately surged forward and wrapped my arms around her neck. "Hayley, I'm so sorry!"

"You can't let him do it, Jules!" Hayley begged. "They're our family!"

"I promise I won't," I told her. "I promise I'll figure something out. No one is gonna die."

I'll deny it if you say it, but I didn't even believe those words myself.

* * *

The only plan that I could think of was to go to the bayou and try and save them-or at least warn them-myself. I told Hayley to get some rest, so I sent her to bed. I changed into a purple tank top that was a little too tight in my stomach (I really need to go buy some new clothes) a black leather jacket, black jeans, and boots. I pulled my hair into a high ponytail, and after I was done, I shut my bedroom door soundly, and sneaked down the stairs to the courtyard. I peeked around one of the hallways, and looked behind me to make sure that no one was following me. I turned back around, and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Diego.

"Can I help you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Are you going somewhere?" Diego asked.

I stuttered, racking my brain for a response. But luckily, I didn't have to give him one. A blur of black threw Diego into the wall beside us, and his neck snapped with a defining crack sound.

I sighed in relief when I saw that it was Elijah, and I resisted the urge to hug him. "Elijah. You should get out of here, Klaus has this place locked up tight. I can't even go to the bathroom without a guard. These guys are watching me and it's creeping me out."

"I wouldn't worry about them," Elijah dismissed.

There was a groaning sound from behind me, and I turned my head to see two bodies hitting the floor. Rebekah came out from around the corner, since she was obviously the one that took them out.

"Come, we musn't linger," Elijah said. "We'll get you someplace safe."

The word slipped past my lips before I could stop it. "No. Don't worry about me. I've been put under the protection of Klaus and his lackies. I was only trying to run away to help the werewolves. Klaus ordered a wolf hunt as some stupid peace offering to Marcel's men. You have to help them."

"Out in the bayou?" Rebekah asked in disbelief. "Do we look like a bloody vampire rescue squad? I think you should be grateful that we came to save _you_."

"Rebekah, listen to me," I started. "I'm not doing this for me. Well, sort of, they're my family too. I'm doing it for Hayley. After everything she's done for me, I owe this to her. All her life she's wondered who her family was, and now that she's found them, Klaus orders them killed. And besides, they're my biological family, too. They have to know _something_ about my real family, and I don't want them dead."

I knew my speech was winning Elijah over, but Rebekah needed a little more convincing. I drew myself up to my full height, squared my shoulders, and lifted my chin. "So either you save my family, or you get out of my way so _I _can go save them. What'll it be?"

* * *

The Mikaelson siblings gave in, but they gave me strict orders to stay here while they went and sorted out all this business. That was just fine with me, because my feet were _killing_ me, and I wasn't even showing that much yet!

I had decided to go take a nap when a FedEx guy walked into the compound with a box. "Package for Ms. Gilbert!"

"That's me," I said, wondering who would be sending me stuff. I signed for the box, and took it from the guy. I struggled with it in my arms, but I felt the weight lifting after a minute of me holding it.

"What did I say about carrying heavy objects?" Hayley asked as she set the box down on one of the little tables.

"It was just a _box_," I insisted. Hayley found me a knife, and I cut the tape off so I could open the box. On top of the tissue paper, there was a letter. I picked the letter up, and skimmed over it.

_Dear Juliet,_

_ Just a little something from all of us to help welcome Baby Gilbert! I know we have a long way to go until she's here, but you can never shop too early!_

_ Caroline, Elena, Bonnie (oh yeah, uh, so Bonnie came back to life), Jeremy, Matt, Stefan, and Damon._

My eyes bugged out of my head. They thought that _this_ was the appropriate way to tell me that one of my best friends had come back from the dead?

While I really wanted to call up Bonnie, I decided to wait until later. I wanted to know what was in the box!

"Who's it from?" Hayley asked as she took the letter from my hands.

"My family," I answered as I pushed the tissue paper back.

I found a little pink teddy bear, courtesy of Elena, who wanted the bear to be Baby Gilbert's first toy. Caroline had gotten her four sets of onesies and dresses and shoes, Jeremy got her a race car blanket (which kind of made me really happy to know that he'd still treat her like a guy), Bonnie got her a little rattle that she had enchanted by a witch so that it glowed whenever it was shaken, Stefan got her the picture book "Goodnight Moon", Matt got her a onesie that says "I love my Uncle", and Damon got her a pair of shoes.

This was all too much.

I started tearing up. I wiped at the tears, and Hayley rubbed my back. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just these damn hormones. Making me feel everything doubled."

"I hope you realize that you still have a long time to go. It's only gonna get worse," Hayley said.

"I know, but it's just like my family to do this," I laughed through my tears. I looked over at Hayley, who was trying her best to smile, but I knew she was still really upset over Klaus ordering our family dead.

I think it's time to fix that.

* * *

I went to have a bite to eat first, but after I was done, I stomped into the living room, where I knew Klaus was. He was nonchalantly reading a book, and I didn't stop walking until I was right in front of him. He peeked up from his book, before looking back down at it.

"Now, I'm only going to ask politely once," I said, calm, cool, and collected. "Call off the wolf hunt in the bayou."

"No," He said, not even bothering to look up from the page.

I glared at him in disbelief. "Those werewolves that you so easily ordered dead, that's mine and Hayley's family," I growled.

"Not for long, love," Klaus dismissed. "I mean, this so-called family of yours, they haven't done you much good, have they?"

I lowered my gaze. They haven't. They're my family, and I know I'm supposed to love them, but I'd be completely okay if I never saw them or spoke to them, because I had my family back home in Mystic Falls, and now, Baby Gilbert. But the one thing that Hayley craved the most in this world was knowing her birth family and I'd be damned if I let anything get in my way of helping her. "They're _Hayley's _family, too. The whole reason she came to New Orleans was to find out about her family. You can't kill them!"

"Love, I'm doing her a favour. Those people abandoned her and left her on her own. They essentially did the same thing to you. Now, it's simply you two's turn to do the same."

"They probably had their reasons, Klaus," I argued. "And while I ended up with the best family I could have ever asked for, Hayley didn't. She at least deserves an explanation for it."

Klaus angrily tosses the book aside and stands up. "Yes, while I have reason too, Mama Wolf," He sneered. "If the werewolves are dead, the vampires have less desire to kill you. I am trying to keep you-and your Little Wolf-safe. Not that you appreciate the effort."

The words managed to sting me, no matter how much I tried to tell myself that I didn't care. "And what happens to me _after_ I have this baby?" I asked, glaring at him.

Klaus had the good sense to not say anything, or I would have literally tried to claw his eyes out. "Well, I guess I'm just lucky that I have a ways to go until I find out. And in the meantime, if you keep this wolf hunt going, I will never stop until I figure out a way to get you back for this. I might not be much, Klaus, but threaten my family and I can be your _worst_ nightmare. And as long as I'm in _this_ family, there isn't a damn thing that you can do to stop me."

I swirled on my heel before I could register the hurt look on his face. My heart thudded as I stormed out of the room. Served him right. I tried being polite, but that didn't work, so I brought out my claws.

Turns out, I'll have to fight a lot harder for things that I want in New Orleans.

* * *

I passed by one of the rooms, and saw a light on and a person inside. I stopped in my tracks, and backtraced my steps. I stopped in front of the door, and saw a petite young woman with brown hair standing inside.

"Who are you?" I asked her.

She looked up from the boxes that she was rifling through. "I'm Davina," She said in a sugary sweet voice.

My eyes bugged out of my head. "Davina? As in the witch who was intended to be used in the Harvest, _Davina_?"

She nodded. "I guess word gets around, huh?"

"It sure does," I said.

"And you must be Juliet. Klaus's wife," She said matter of factly.

I burst into laughter. "Oh, honey, you couldn't be more wrong," I said, wiping at a fake tear. "I'm just the pregnant half werewolf, half witch."

"You're a witch?" Davina asked, her eyebrows perking up with interest.

I shrugged. "I guess. That's what a friend told me," I told her. Though I don't think I should consider Tyler a friend anymore after he tried to hurt the most important person (thought she technically wasn't a person yet) to me. "I've never actually tried using my magic before."

Davina nodded, and she began looking through her boxes again. "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help," I offered.

"My violin. It must be left in the attic I used to be staying in," Davina said, growing distraught.

"It's okay, no need to panic," I said, putting my hands out. I didn't know why I was feeling so protective of Davina, maybe because one day I'll be _raising_ a teenager (holy crap I'm gonna raise a teenager) but I wanted to gain a little experience. "You can just go get it. I'll go with you, if you want."

"I can't," Davina said. "It's not safe for me out there."

"That's weird, because I thought you were the all powerful witch that could take someone down without even twitching a finger," I said. "I thought everyone was scared of you."

"The witches are after me," She explained.

"Oh, wait, do you mean that crazy witch bitch Agnes?" I asked, thinking about the Elder witch who had injected Sophie Deveraux, which in turn endangered Baby Gilbert's life. "She tried to kill me and my baby, too. But why are you scared of _her_? She's dead. Elijah killed her."

Davina's face contorts into one of confusion. "But, Agnes was the last living Elder. If she's dead, then I'm safe. Marcel would've told me."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because Marcel used to be the King of New Orleans. And his secret weapon against the witches was you. Maybe he didn't want to lose that advantage."

"You're lying," Davina accused.

"Why would I lie?" I asked.

"Because you want something from me. Everyone does," She said, so sure of herself.

I was about to tell Davina that I didn't want anything from her, but I reconsidered my answer. "You know what? I _do_ want something from you, Davina. Thanks to your bestie Marcel, most of mine and my cousin Hayley's family is curse. Now, I think of a spell like a sort of contract, and every contract has a loophole, so every spell must have a loophole. You're the strongest witch I've come across so far. But I'm _not_ the type of person to lie to get what she wants. I'm Juliet Gilbert, I can't even _stand _telling a lie. I'd ask you for your help. But that's just the difference between Marcel and me."

Davina looked like I had dumped the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I felt super guilty. I studied the lines in my hand, before looking back up at Davina. "Are you hungry? I'll go make you something to eat," I said, not even bothering to wait for an answer. I turned around and ran out of the room.

I needed to watch my mouth.

* * *

I studied the buzzing French Quarter from the balcony of the house. My chin was in my hand as the cool breeze brushed gently against my face. My other hand was tracing circles around where Baby Gilbert was. I wonder when she'd start kicking.

The door behind me opened, and I turned my head slightly to see Elijah walking in. My heart pounded slightly. "Are they...?"

"They're safe. All of them," Elijah said as he smiled gently.

I sighed in relief. I felt my heart rate drop back to a normal pace, and I was so grateful that I threw my arms around Elijah's neck, hugging him as hard as I could.

"Thank you, Elijah," I said happily. "It means so much to me and Hayley. Oh man, she's gonna be so happy!"

I pulled back from Elijah, and my sweater sleeve slipped down, revealing my crescent moon mark.

"You should keep this hidden," Elijah said, grabbing the edge of my sweater and tugging it back up so that it covered the mark. "If anyone else saw this..."

"I will, I promise," I told him. "The last thing I need to attract attention to myself."

Elijah nodded. "I should go," He said quietly.

My eyes trailed down Elijah's face, taking in all the sights from his breathtaking dark brown eyes to his cute little nose to the creases in his lips. Those damn, kissable lips. That's what you're supposed to do with lips, right?

I swallowed thickly, and looked back up at Elijah's eyes. I took a deep, shaky breath, but came to my senses. "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded, and pulled back from me. He gave me a half smile, and turned and walked out the door.

I immediately felt the cold absence that Elijah left behind, and rubbed my arms in an attempt to get myself warm again. I looked back out to the French Quarter, drinking in its sights.

I was in trouble.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Pregnancy hormones, they're really a bitch, aren't they?**

**I'm gonna try and catch up this as fast as I can!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	11. The Casket Girls

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the wait! I'm trying to get better with updates. Could we try to get to 100 reviews? I'll do something special! I don't know what, but I'll do something! You guys can totally give suggestions too!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Finally!" I cried happily, smoothening down the front of my dress. "Finally, one that fits me! I guess I'm not gaining as much weight as I thought!"

Hayley, who was standing behind me, tilted her head to the side as she examined my reflection in the mirror. "I don't think so. I think you just got the dress of a pregnant Casket Girl. In fact, you literally look like that stupid bluge in a perfectly straight line of toothpaste on a toothbrush."

I turned and playfully batted her arm. "Not funny! And besides, _you're_ the one that keeps stuffing me with food."

"Is it _my _fault that I want you to be healthy?"

There was another celebration going on in New Orleans, and when I asked Rebekah what the deal was with this new party, she told Hayley and I the story of the Casket Girls: It's a long story, but the basic gist is that the Casket Girls were girls that were brave enough to fight back against forces that oppressed them, which was pretty cool, if I did say so myself. Women standing up for themselves? Can I get a hell yeah?

Rebekah had dug out an old trunk of clothing, and Hayley and I had been spending the morning trying on the dresses. Thanks to my ever growing pregnant belly, I hadn't been able to fit into any of the dresses that Hayley presented me with. Until now, that is.

I twirled as I looked at myself in the mirror. "I don't look so bad. Besides, in this dress, you almost can't tell."

"Key word being _almost_," Hayley pointed out as she admired her own reflection in the mirror.

"We look pretty," I commented. This had been my first opportunity to dress up since I had gotten to New Orleans, and even then, I wasn't going to be going anywhere and celebrating in the festivities. Hayley and I decided that it would probably just be a good idea to stay at home, especially with all the rising tension going on. I tried convincing Hayley to go have fun, that she didn't need to be watching me 24/7, but she would have none of it. We were in this together, she had said, and to be honest, I was glad she thought this way. I wasn't looking forward to spending the evening alone.

"We look stupid," Hayley countered, and I couldn't help but agree with her a little. I mean, we _did_ look pretty ridiculous.

She gave herself one more onceover before she turned her back to me. "Unzip me? I'm going to go change. I really have to pee."

I rolled my eyes, but turned to her back. "Isn't it supposed to be _me_ with the uncontrolable urge to pee?" I asked as I unzipped her.

"I had, like, two cups of tea this morning," Hayley said as I let go of the zipper. "Sue me."

She turned and left the room so she could go change. I turned back to the mirror, and swayed the skirt of the dress a little. I smiled at my reflection. I really _did_ feel pretty. The dress I was wearing was like a wedding dress, but a lot simpler. I felt like Cinderella.

Well, a knocked up Cinderella, minus the fairy godmother, the talking mice, and the handsome prince at the end.

I was too busy fiddling with a piece of thread to even notice that I wasn't alone in the room anymore. Once I finally plucked it off of the dress, I looked back up, and nearly screamed when I saw another reflection in the mirror. The scream immediately died in my throat when I saw that it was just Elijah.

"Oh God, you scared me," I breathed with a small smile. "But, in a city like this, there is a lot more scary things."

Elijah smiled. "Playing dress up by yourself?"

"No, I was playing with Hayley," I answered. "She went to go change. Apparently, there weren't that many pregnant Casket Girls." I moved my hands to my stomach, and gently patted Baby Gilbert.

"I think you look lovely," Elijah said honestly.

I half scoffed half laughed, but mainly to cover up the blush that was starting to creep up on my neck. I thought back to what Hayley had said. "Really? I literally look like that stupid bluge in a perfectly straight line of toothpaste on a toothbrush."

Elijah chuckled. "Now you know that's not true. Although, I would-" He started, grabbing the edge of the dress that covered my shoulder and pulling it more over to the left of my shoulder, leaving me to think that he was trying to cover my birthmark.

"Yeah, I know," I said, bringing my hand back to where the mark was. "Keep the weird, wolfy mark covered up."

"Well, I don't suspect that any of the riff raff here would dare lay a hand on you," Elijah thought aloud, and I couldn't help but smile at the words "riff raff". Elijah speaking all olden timey was cute-ahem-_definitely_ not cute. "Not when you're under the protection of my family, still, we shouldn't take any chances."

"Let's be real here, Hayley would take them out a lot faster than you or Klaus or Rebekah could," I said, and Elijah slightly nodded his head in agreement.

I huffed as I tilted my head in the reflection. "It's too bad that this dress won't see a good night out. After being in that trunk for like, ninety years, it probably deserves a good night out."

"You know," Elijah started as he walked over so that he was standing in front of me. "If you wanted to attend the festivities tonight, I'd be more than willing to take you."

I smiled at him. "I know you would, and thanks for that. But I think I'm gonna pass. Hayley and I have a big night planned. We're gonna watch movies, and have girl talk, and try to ignore our lives for the time being," I said. "Plus, I know you and Klaus are teetering on the edge of talking to each other again, and I don't want to be the one to push you over to the 'killing each other' phase," I said quietly.

Elijah nodded. "Of course."

"We're also going to try and think of baby names," I brought up, but I didn't know why.

"Really?" Elijah asked.

I nodded. "I can't call her Baby Gilbert for the next six months. She deserves a name."

"I wish you luck," Elijah said. "There are a lot of names in the world to choose from."

He gave me a smile, before walking past me to leave. I reached my arms behind me to try and unzip my dress, but to my dismay, I couldn't reach. "Elijah?" I called out, stopping him from leaving the room.

He turned around, and I looked at him through the mirror. "Do you mind...?" I asked.

Elijah nodded, and he came back over to me. He swept my wavy brown hair away from my back, and his fingers grasped the buttons to undo the clasp. I felt a lump in my throat form as I watched him in the mirror, Elijah's gaze entirely fixated on his hands. I felt a slight shiver that I tried my best to fight and ignore when he pulled the zipper down, and I had to fight against the flush that was now running down my back.

"Thanks," I murmured when he let go of the zipper, and he barely said "You're welcome" before he was out the door, shutting it tightly behind him.

I huffed as I felt the blush starting to fade away. I looked down at my stomach, and groaned.

"What has Mommy gotten herself into?"

* * *

Feeling much better now that I was back in my street clothes, I walked over to the trunk where Rebekah was standing in the Abattoir. I had overheard from one of the vampires that Davina had gone missing, and I couldn't help but feel super guilty. Did what I tell her prompt her to leave?

"So Davina's missing, huh?" I asked as I got to Rebekah. I opened the chest that was beside her and stuffed my dress into it.

My blonde friend sighed as she threw a white dress back into a large chest that was sitting in front of her. "Walked right out of the front door, apparently. Know anything about it?"

"Not really," I said. "But I did tell her that the last remaining witch Elder was dead."

"Why would she care when the Elders tried to kill her in their ritual?" Rebekah asked.

"I think she's just angry that Marcel didn't tell her that the thing keeping her from being free was eliminated," I thought.

"So you're why she's run off," Rebekah concluded.

I looked over to where Klaus was standing to make sure that he wasn't paying attention. The last thing that I needed was for him to find out that I was involved in Davina's flight. "I didn't pack her bags for her if that's what you're to imply," I said, feeling a little hurt. "I just told her the truth. _She's_ the one that finally figured out that they were just using her to keep the control over witches."

Rebekah looked up over to Klaus, who was now joined by Marcel. "Yeah, well, I've never been a fan of the boys club. Just wait, Elijah will join them and the three of them will be impossible," She said. She looked up over to where Klaus was. "Used by the witches, lied to by Marcel, manipulated by Elijah, threatened by Klaus," Rebekah rattled off. "It's like a modern day Casket Girl."

I considered her words, and realized that how they were all connected. "Are you talking about Davina or yourself?"

Rebekah threw me a look. "Does it matter? Either way, us girls got to stick together," She said.

I nodded. In a town run by boys, we really did.

* * *

I growled as I stomped towards a bathroom. "Look, I _know_ that Klaus ordered you guys to follow me around," I started, and I swirled around to face my two vampire bodyguards. "But do you really have to follow me into the bathroom?"

The two of them didn't say anything, and I rolled my eyes. I felt my phone ring in my pocket, and I dug it out to see who was calling. My eyes practically bugged out of my head when I saw who was calling. I looked back up at the vampires. "I need a minute, it's my gynecologist. Unless you would like to listen to us discuss my lady parts?"

The two of them didn't say a word as I turned around and opened the door to the parking garage. I checked behind me to make sure that the door was soundly shut before answering the call. "What the hell do _you_ want?"

"I know you don't trust me," Sophie Deveraux started. "But you need to listen. Everything is about to change. Davina is on the loose."

"Wow, _nothing_ gets passed you witches," I said with an eye roll, even though Sophie couldn't see it. "Ten points to Sophie Deveraux."

"Enough with the sarcasm," Sophie said. "I need something from you, so that the witches can complete the Harvest."

"First of all, on what planet, in what universe, in what _existence_ would I help you witch bitches get more power?" I asked. "Literally all you guys have been doing is hexing me. Not the way to get favours from someone."

"You'll help me because if we don't complete the Harvest, our access to magic will fade for good. You are a witch, you're our people too, and you'll lose that power. And it doesn't bode well for your werewolf family."

I froze. What _about_ my werewolf family? "And exactly what do you know about my werewolf family?" I asked cautiously.

"You are half witch, half werewolf, even though you haven't triggered the curse," Sophie started. "You're from the Crescent Wolf bloodline. Marcel got a witch to curse them so that they're trapped in wolf form."

"Unless you plan on telling me something that I _don't_ know, I'm going to hang up."

"My bloodline executed that curse," Sophie explained. "Help me complete the Harvest, and I'll undo the curse for you."

Undo the curse on mine and Hayley's family so that we can talk and interact with them? All I have to do is help a witch? I sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need to consecrate the remains of a powerful witch so I can absorb their magic," Sophie said. "I know of one who's body was never found. Her name was Celeste DuBois. I believe you and she have a friend in common."

And there go my plans of helping Sophie. They went right down the drain. "Elijah," I sighed.

"Story goes that when she died, he buried her in a secret spot at her request. All you need to do is find out where."

"I'm sorry Sophie, I can't help you," I said immediately. What was I even _thinking?_ I was seriously going to let a girl die for my own gain? That wasn't me. And going behind Elijah's back like that? That wasn't me either.

"Why not? What happened to wanting to help your family?" She asked.

"You couldn't offer me everything in the world to betray a friend," I said. "I have Elijah's trust and friendship, and that is _not_ something I'm willing to jepordize over some silly little ritual. Also, I'm pretty sure that digging up someone's grave is at _least _twenty years of bad karma. I am _not_ going to betray Elijah, I am _not_ going to dig up some woman's grave that I don't even know, and I am _not_ going to participate in the sacrifice of an innocent sixteen year old girl. Good luck, Sophie," I said, and I hung up before she had the chance to say anything else.

* * *

"Can you believe the nerve of Sophie Deveraux?" I said to Hayley as I threw my hair into a messy bun. "She actually wanted me to go behind Elijah's back like that. Even if Elijah and I _weren't _friends, I still wouldn't do that to a dead person."

"I don't know," Hayley said as she slightly squirmed. "I know if I were in your shoes, I'd do it."

"Really?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting up to my hairline. "You'd really do it?"

"You don't know what it's like to grow up without a family, Juliet," Hayley explained. "Besides, the Crescent wolves _are_ our family. I'd do it."

I sighed. "Hayley, don't you think I know that they're our family? Yeah, I'd love to just wave my hand and undo the curse so that they can live normally, but I can't."

"Maybe you can," Hayley suggested. "You're a witch, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess," I started. "But I'm nowhere near strong enough to actually do anything, let alone lift a huge curse like that. I haven't even used a spell before!"

Hayley huffed. "That's true." We were both quiet for a minute before she spoke up. "I'm getting kind of hungry. Do you want me to go pick something up to eat?"

I nodded. "Sure. Make sure you get something spicy, I've been craving it today."

She smiled. "I'll be back in a little bit."

I decided to take a shower while I waited for Hayley to return. I shed my clothes, and stepped under the hot stream of water. As I scrubbed shampoo into my hair, I couldn't help but think back to the decision I had made.

I made the right one, didn't I? I didn't want to make Elijah angry with me; I can't imagine what that would be like. I also didn't want to help kill a young girl. I thought of Baby Gilbert, if she was in Davina's place. I put my soapy hands to my stomach that had started to grow even more. I know I said that I didn't like killing people, but if people threatened my baby, I didn't know if I would hold myself to that promise.

But then again...the Crescent wolves _were_ my family, and I had an opportunity to help them. But to do that, I'd have to get my hands dirty. Maybe if I helped Davina somehow, she'd help me with undoing the curse.

But I didn't want it to seem that I was using her for my own gain. That was just selfish.

I banged my head against the wall of the shower.

When did my life get so complicated?

* * *

I stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered. I pulled on a dark pink long sleeved top, jeans that still fit me, and long boots. I had just grabbed a book from my shelf when I heard screams. I barreled out of my room, and gasped when I saw the bloody mess in the middle of the compound.

Klaus, Elijah, and Marcel were all passed out on the floor. I barreled down the stairs, and ran right to Elijah.

"Elijah?" I said, dropping to his side. I gasped when I saw that he had a trail of blood going from his mouth all the way down his front. His lips were stained with the ruby red liquid, and he looked pretty messed up, but I didn't think he was unconscious. I grabbed him, and started shaking him slightly. "Elijah, wake up!"

Nothing was working. I groaned, realizing what I probably had to do. I took off my earring, steeled myself, and poked a hole in my pointer finger. I grimaced slightly at the pain, but ignored it as I put my finger underneath Elijah's nose, trying to rouse him with the smell of blood.

It worked, and the wound on my finger closed up as he stirred. "What happened?" I asked as he began to sit up.

"Davina happened," He answered. Elijah's attitude went from in pain to worry. "When did you come? Are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?"

I shook my head. "No, she didn't hurt me, I'm fine. I didn't even _see_ Davina. I just heard screams and ran out as fast as I could. What did Davina do?"

"Klaus lured her out by taking her friend Tim hostage," Elijah explained. "And when she came, she knocked us all out, and apparently has left," Elijah commented, looking around the empty compound.

Klaus began stirring, and the two of us looked over to where he was. "What the bloody hell hit me?" He groaned as he tried putting himself into a sitting position.

"The witch equivalent of Tinkerbell," I answered.

Klaus eventually brushed himself off, and Elijah regained his strength too. The first thing that Klaus did was call Rebekah, and Elijah went over to where Marcel was still passed out to wait for him to wake up.

Marcel groaned as he finally woke up, and he looked up at Elijah.

"Well, isn't this monumentally awkward," Elijah said, and we both offered a hand to help Marcel stand up. Marcel took our hands, and we lifted him up off of the ground.

"Rebekah, where are you?" Klaus spoke into the phone. "Well, I tried to talk to her out of respect for Marcel but she made it quite clear that she is not our friend. My apologies if you thought she was yours." Klaus paused as he listened to Rebekah. "No, it wouldn't. See, the poison I compelled Timothy to feed her is quite potent. It's just a matter of time for her."

I could feel Marcel tense up with anger, and he started making his way to probably beat the crap out of Klaus. Elijah was able to hold him back, though.

However, Marcel wasn't the only one he had to worry about.

Klaus tried to _poison_ Davina? Just because she wanted to live her own _life_? Made me wonder what he'd do to Baby Gilbert if she refused to do her homework, or if she has a rebellious phase.

I prepared myself to do my "not taking anyone's shit" walk, but Elijah grabbed me by the arm before I could. I looked over to him, and he slightly shook his head.

Okay, so maybe I was going to take Elijah's shit.

"There is no _dealing_ with those who threaten us," Klaus told Rebekah. "Davina sealed her fate when she stood against me. This is her choice, not mine." And with that, he hung up.

Elijah, Marcel, and I all gave Klaus dirty, judgmental looks. Klaus actually had the audacity to _laugh_. "Oh, come on. The stench of your judgement is overwhelming," Klaus said as he walked between Marcel and Elijah. He turned around. "Need I remind you that Davina just bested the lot of us! I did what had to be done." Klaus looked over at his brother. "Don't worry, Elijah. I remain as redeemable as ever."

"So you compelled that boy to poison Davina without consulting Marcel or myself?" Elijah asked, keeping his anger and irritation at bay.

Klaus simply shrugged.

"You know the worst part is?" Marcel started. "You are so predictable that I had to make an alliance with your brother, who I don't even _like_."

Klaus looked over to Elijah, who looked over to Marcel, before gently grabbing my arm and pulling me and himself to the side.

"Judging by your expression, you have something to share," Klaus deduced.

"Damn straight I do," Marcel said with a proud smile. "I got a call from Kieran earlier, right after Sabine and the witches almost got their hands on Davina first. Sabine was the only one still alive because she was the only one smart enough to put a protection spell on herself. So, I gave her two options: I kill her, or she put a protection spell on Davina. I think you can guess which option she chose."

Klaus growled. "So when you slipped away to allegedly check on your night walkers, you were in fact colluding with a witch. Very clever. I suppose I should be proud."

_ Colluding?_ Is that even a word?

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure that I had a failsafe just in case, as Elijah expected, you started acting like you," Marcel retorted.

"Except that now you've involved the witches who, last time I checked, were enemy to us all," Klaus said as he walked up to Marcel. "To everything we have and to our family," Klaus said, looking at Elijah and I.

"Davina _is_ Marcel's family, Niklaus," Elijah said. "Or did that somehow slip your mind as you tried to take her life?"

For once, Klaus didn't say anything.

"You will call Rebekah, you'll tell her that Davina will recover," Elijah demanded. "I do wish the same could be said for that boy." And with that, Elijah left. That brought on Marcel's departure, and then it was just me and Klaus.

"Juliet..." He started.

"No, don't start," I said. "There is no excuse that you can come up with that would even _begin _to make this all look okay. It's _not_ okay, Klaus! They're just _kids_ for God's sake! Davina is a kid! That kid Tim is..._was_ a kid. And you just killed him. You knocked him down like was some pawn on a chest board."

"I did what had to be done," Klaus repeated.

"Killing that kid did _not_ have to be done!" I protested. "He had his whole life ahead of him!"

"Why do you care about the life of a boy whom you've never even seen?" Klaus challenged.

I sucked in a deep breath. "Because the way you treated him made me scared. What are you gonna do when Baby Gilbert refuses to do her homework? What are you going to do when she refuses to turn the TV off when it's time for bed? What are you gonna do when she wants to start dating, Klaus? This isn't the kind of person that a parent should be!" I finished, gesturing up and down at him. With each word that came out of his mouth, Klaus looked like was starting to slightly regret what he had done.

I spun on my heel, and stalked off. Sometimes, I just wanted to forgive Klaus for what he does. I wanted to convince myself that he only does it to protect me and Baby Gilbert. I could sometimes see the sweet side to him, but that side isn't out enough. Maybe if I saw that side more, I wouldn't feel how I do. It seems that instead of the baby bringing me and Klaus closer, it's been driving us apart. And I don't think that I was okay with it.

* * *

Hayley came home, and saw me literally red with anger. She made me sit down and explain what happened as we ate. So I did, and she grumbled. "Why do I miss all of the fun?"

Anyways, it was sometime after, and Hayley had decided to turn in early for the night. I was going to head to bed, but I passed by Elijah's room, where I decided to check up on him.

I walked inside, and clasped my hands together. Elijah looked up from a piece of paper that he was looking at when he heard footsteps.

"Glad to see that you don't look like death anymore," I joked. "Seriously, the look does _not_ suit you."

Elijah smiled. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."

"Take it as a compliment," I said with a smile. "Are you doing okay?"

"Better, now," Elijah said, and he gave me a smile that almost stopped my heart. Stupid heart, knock it off!

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my own lips. Stupid lips, stop!

Too many hormones, that's the only logical explanation.

I almost missed Elijah's question because of how bad I was internally beating myself up. "Are _you_ okay? I heard yours and Niklaus's little spat."

I huffed. "Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about happy things. Like, do you have a name for the baby?"

Elijah looked back up. "You mean I get to give a suggestion?"

I nodded. "Of course. Everyone gets to give one suggestion. Even Klaus. What's yours?"

Elijah gave it a bit of thought. "How about...Isabella?"

"Isabella," I repeating, going over the name in my head. Isabella Gilbert. "Not too bad. I'll be sure to add it to the list."

Elijah nodded as he gave me another smile, and I started to squirm. "So!" I said, quite loudly. "What are you looking at?"

"It's Davina's sketches," Elijah answered, and I stepped closer to see them properly. They were all really weird, like they were only partial pictures.

"I wonder if they represent some kind of premonition," Elijah continued as he shuffled the papers around. "They seem to suggest something's coming. Something sinister."

"Sinister?" I repeated. "Kinda weird for a girl who's supposed to be obsessed with lip gloss and magazines."

As Elijah started piecing the papers together, it almost started looking like a puzzle. The puzzle seemed to form a face, one that made my stomach sink all the way to the floor.

I had only seen the face a couple of times, and really, it was just glimpses. But I still knew who it was.

And judging by the look on Elijah's face, it looked like he knew exactly who it was too.

"Oh my God," I breathed. "Isn't that..."

"Celeste," Elijah finished.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Gonna keep this short because I am hella tired and it is hella late!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	12. Après Moi, Le Déluge

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the wait!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Davina's screams pierced the ears of everyone who lived in our house. I covered my ears, and Hayley had literally grabbed two pillows and brought them over her ears. Ever since Tim's death, Davina had been so pissed at everybody that she'd been using all the magic in her little body to wreck havoc. Davina finally stopped screaming, and it was safe to uncover our ears.

Hayley growled, bringing her the pillows down. "If the witches don't kill that little twit then _I_ will. She's damn near blown out my ear drums!"

"Hayley, go easy on her," I said, sitting down next to her. "She just lost the love of her life."

"Yeah, I get that. But she just needs a chocolate bar, some ice cream, and some sad romantic movies," She huffed. "She'll get over it like everyone else."

"That's different," I pointed out. "That's what you do when you get _dumped_. Her boyfriend died."

Hayley sighed, putting her chin into her hand. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Elijah popped his head into the living room. "Davina just had another spell, are you girls all right?"

I noticed Hayley immediately drop her gaze from Elijah, so I just answered for her. "Yeah, we're both fine. Thanks for checking up on us, though I wanted to know, if it was okay, could I check up on Davina later?"

Elijah shrugged. "She refuses to speak to even Marcel but if you would like to give it a try go right ahead."

I nodded, and Hayley relaxed as soon as Elijah was gone. I nudged her slightly. "Are you okay? You seemed coiled tighter than a snake whenever you're around Elijah."

"Yeah, I'm fine," She cleared her throat. "I'm just nervous about the full moon coming up. Our family is going to be human and I'll be..."

"A wolf," I finished. It figured. The one chance that Hayley had to meet our family, it got blown. Oh well, I'd figure out a way to make it so that she could stay the same on the full moon.

I patted Hayley on the leg. "I'm gonna go make Davina something to eat. Poor little thing must be starving by now."

I left Hayley and went into the kitchen, where Marcel was already making Davina something to eat. "Hey," I said, walking over to him. "Anything I can help with?"

He looked down at the tray of food. "Yeah, actually. I've already tried taking food to Davina. She threw me out-_literally_. Do you mind taking this up to her?"

I shook my head. "Not at all." I grabbed the tray with a glass of water, some soup, and a sandwich. I had to carefully balance it with my growing bump, but I made it up to the room where Davina was staying. I balanced the tray on the wall and knocked on the door. "Davina? It's Juliet."

"Go away," Her ragged voice came out.

"Davina, you need to eat. I'm not taking no for an answer, so I'm going to open the door on the count of three. I really hope that you're not the type of person to hurt a pregnant lady," I called out. "One...two...three."

I opened the door, and I was surprised when Davina didn't retaliate. I walked further into the room, shutting the door behind me. "I've got some soup and sandwiches for you. You need to eat something."

I set it down on the bed in front of her. "I know it's not much, but it's something," I said as I sat on the other side of the tray.

We were both quiet for a second, and then Davina spoke up. "How can you be having his kid?"

Of course she was talking about Klaus. Who else was the father of my child? "I don't really have a choice, Davina."

"Of course you do. Everyone has a choice. Why let that child be born being _Klaus_'s daughter?"

I huffed, blowing my bangs out of my face. "Because she might be Klaus's daughter, but people seem to be forgetting that she's my daughter, too. And abortion was never really an option. I love her too much already. She might end up being like Klaus, but she might end up being like me, too."

Davina slowly looked over to me, and nodded her head. "I guess I never thought of it that way. For her sake, and yours, I hope she's like you."

We both shared a laugh, and Davina felt safe enough to reach for the sandwich. She took a bite, but she immediately began coughing.

"Davina?" I said worriedly. Her coughing just got worse, and for a second I thought that she was choking on the sandwich until she spit out the one bite she took and was _still_ coughing. Only this time, brown stuff started coming out, and it almost looked like...dirt.

"Marcel!" I called, leaving Davina's side and running to the door. I pulled it open. "Marcel! Klaus! Come quick!"

Thanks to vampire speed, they were here in the blink of an eye and Marcel was instantly at Davina's side, caressing her back. "What happened?" He asked as she coughed up the dirt.

"I don't know! She was perfectly fine and then-"

The house then began to shake, and I would have fallen over if I hadn't fallen into Klaus's arms, who pulled me right into his side and hugged me tight to him. I was forced to watch in confusion as Davina, scared out of her mind, was coughing up dirt.

Klaus made sure that I was stable, and he and Marcel ran out to the balcony to look out into the compound. I ran right over to Davina's side, and wrapped my arm around her shaking form as she continued to vomit the dirt.

Klaus and Marcel ran back in, and they literally had to pry me off of Davina. "You need to get somewhere safe," Marcel had argued as he and Klaus each held on to one of my arms.

"But what about Davina?" I asked as they led me out, which was a little difficult considering the entire French Quarter was shaking.

"We'll take care of her," Klaus assured me. "Go, hide in your room. Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"But-" I started, and suddenly, there was another hand on my arm.

"You two go, I got preggers," Hayley told them, and she wrapped her arm around me as she led me to my bedroom.

At this point the shaking had stopped, but I could tell that there was something off with Hayley. She was jumpy, she was biting her nails, and she couldn't quite look me in the eyes.

"Hayley?" I called as she was examining her nails. We were in my bedroom watching TV, not worrying like Klaus said, so it was the perfect opportunity to corner her. "Hayley, what's wrong?"

"I told you," She dismissed. "It was the full moon."

I gave her a look and shook my head. "No. No, it's not." I got off of my bed and walked over to her. "Hayley, if there's something wrong, you don't have to be afraid to tell me."

Hayley refused to look up at me but after a few persistent glares, she sighed and finally looked up. "It's not _you_ I'm afraid to tell, okay? It's Elijah."

"What are you afraid to tell him?" I asked. "Maybe it'd be easier coming from me."

Hayley stood up, not able to sit down any longer without fidgeting. "I did a bad thing, Jules," She said, her back turned to me.

I folded my arms over my chest. Oh man, this couldn't be good. "Come on, it can't be _that_ bad."

"Oh trust me, it can," She scoffed as she turned around. She wringed her wrists and played with her fingers for a few seconds. Then she sighed and looked up at me. "Remember the deal Sophie offered you?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"I...kind of took her up on it."

My stomach dropped. "What?" I walked over to her. "Hayley, what did you do?"

She managed to hold my gaze, though her eyes were filled with shame. "I went back to the plantation, and looked through Elijah's journals to see where he had buried Celeste. And then I told Sophie where she could find her."

Oh my God. "Hayley, how could you do that?" I asked. "I specifically told you that I couldn't do it because it wasn't _right_."

"I did it for my family, okay?" She said, tears brimming her eyes. "You don't know what it's like to not have a family. And I know that you are my family, and I love you, but I want to know my family history. I want to know how my parents met. I want to know my cousins, my aunts, uncles, _everyone_."

"All I hear is 'I'," I said. "There was a _reason_ she was buried in secret, Hayley. I don't know what it is, but there's a reason that she didn't want the witches knowing where. And you don't think I want to know all this stuff either? I might not be a loner, but as an adopted kid all my life I've wondered what my birth family was like. But I don't stoop to such low levels to do it!"

"Juliet, I'm sorry-" Hayley began, tears falling from her eyes.

I put my hand up to silence her. "It's not me that you should be apologizing to," I told her. I pointed out the door. "You need to go and tell Elijah what you did and hope that he can find it in his heart to forgive you."

"But you said that it might sound better coming from you!"

"I didn't know _this_ was what you were talking about!" I argued. "Hayley, you created this mess. You betrayed his trust. Now, you have to go fix this." I pointed out the door again. "I'll do damage control, but you have to go and tell him."

* * *

Hayley went to go tell Elijah what happened, and I waited outside the door for one of them to come out-either a pissed off Elijah, or an upset Hayley. Either way, I was going to be busy tonight.

The first person to come out was actually Elijah. He opened the door, and actually seemed so upset that he didn't hear me call his name a few times. He finally did hear me, and turned around. "I'm sorry, Juliet. My mind was elsewhere. Are you alright?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him. "I wanted to talk to you about something, and it has to do with what Hayley told you."

Elijah paused. "Were you involved in telling Sophie Deveraux where she could find Celeste's remains?"

"No!" I immediately shot out. "No, no, no. I'd _never_ do that to you, Elijah. I respect you too much. But what happened is that Sophie passed the offer to me first. I refused, and then I told Hayley about it, because, well, you know, I tell Hayley everything, and then she went and told Sophie," I said in one quick breath. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the role that I played."

Elijah looked down at his hands, then back up at me. "It is not you that I am upset with. You couldn't have forseen what Hayley was going to do."

"Now, I'm not saying that she did the right thing and that you have to forgive her," I began delicately, wringing my wrists together, much like Hayley had. "But you should go a little easy on her. She did it for family. And family's important, right Elijah?"

I had him there, and he knew it. The whole reason we were even _here_ was to try and make the family thing work.

He cleared his throat. "I must be going. I'll see you later, okay? Take care of yourself."

A swift tap on my shoulder, and he's gone.

I watched him leave, then turned around and walked into the room where Hayley and Elijah had been talking. She was sitting on a chair, her head down and her hair creating a halo around her face.

I went over to her and wrapped an arm around her, comforting her.

* * *

Uncontrolable wind blew around the Abattoir, which was a sign of Davina entering the second stage of the four elements that bound together the Harvest. Elijah informed me that because the magic of all three of the girls who were sacrificed in the Harvest went into Davina, it was too much for her little witch body and it was killing her.

I didn't think that it would be a good idea for me and Hayley to be here during Davina's explosions (also, the tension between Elijah and Hayley was too much to bear), so I volunteered us to go help the citizens of New Orleans at Father Kieran's church.

"Thank you for helping us, Juliet," Father Kieran said sincerely as I carried a box of non perishable food items into the main hall of St. Anne's church.

"It's totally okay, Father," I told him. "I love helping. I just hope that things get better before they get worse."

"You and me both," Father Kieran said. "I hope so too, but I think we have enough food. Klaus has outdone himself."

"_Klaus_?" I asked in surprise. "_He_ organized all of this?"

"He helped a lot, that's for sure," He answered.

"Huh," I said. "You know what? Klaus surprises me so much that I don't know who he is exactly. I've seen the good in him, but I've seen the bad too, and I've been letting the bad outweigh the good." I shook my head. "Sorry. I'm not really religious, so I don't know how the whole 'confessing my sins' thing is supposed to go."

Father Kieran chuckled. "That's all right, dear. And seeing the good and bad in people isn't a sin. As long as you can recognize that not everyone is perfect, then that's good."

I blew my bangs out of my face. "I guess you're right." I looked around for Hayley, and I saw her distributing blankets and food among people, and it looked like she was less bothered by everything going on.

The doors to the church opened as Klaus strolled on, a less than pleased look on his face. "Marcel and Davina have disappeared," He reported.

I scrunched up my eyebrows. "What? How? Is Davina okay?"

"How would I know that?" Klaus asked. He turned back to Father Kieran. "I assume from the stupefied look on your face they haven't sought refuge in your attic."

"No. Those days are gone," Father said.

"Then energize your resources," Klaus instructed. "I don't need to remind you how important it is they be found."

Father Kieran nodded and left, leaving Klaus and I by ourselves.

"Klaus?" I asked him before he could leave. "Who are all these people? Why are you helping them? And don't deny that you are, because Father Kieran already told me that you donated food."

Klaus looked around at the people in the church before answering. "They're all werewolves," He said. "They're my clan-our child's family." At the mention of Baby Gilbert, my hands went to my stomach. "From very far back. They've fallen upon hard times and their plight has brought out the philanthropist in me. What can I say? Must be Elijah's influence."

"This poor kid. She's got to be a bit of everything," I said, scanning the room of Klaus and Baby Gilbert's family. I looked back at Klaus, and I was startled by the look he was giving me as he gazed on me. I cleared my throat before I reached down and picked up a box. "I'm going to go hand out some food," I mumbled under my breath, but before I could turn around and run away so I could hide, I felt a flutter in my stomach, and the feeling surprised me so much I gasped and dropped the box.

"What? What is it?" Klaus asked worriedly as he hovered over me.

"She...I think she kicked," I said slowly, looking down to my stomach.

"What?" He asked.

A huge smile crossed my face as I blindly reached out and grabbed Klaus's hands, putting them on my stomach. The flutter happened again, and I gasped once again, as did Klaus. He looked from my stomach up to my face, a smile on his own face. "Oh my God! Did you feel that?"

I gave him a look. "Of course, you idiot! It's happening in my stomach!"

Klaus and I both had wicked grins on our faces, but they started to fade when we realized the position we were in. This was the first time that the two of us were actually engaging in baby stuff _together_.

Klaus pulled his hands away and mumbled something about having to go and find Davina and Marcel, leaving me standing there more confused than ever.

* * *

"It's taken one thousand years, but you've finally gone mad," Rebekah said with an eyeroll. "Our own mother?"

Elijah had called a family meeting with a new plan to finish the Harvest ritual, and I'm not going to lie, the idea sounded pretty crazy.

"Yes, our beloved mother, who Niklaus has affectionately placed in a coffin in his basement- not daggered, but quite dead," Elijah said.

"Well, she did try to kill us all," Klaus pointed out.

"Well, I say we put her to use and put her to rest once and for all," Elijah continued. "Now if we bury our mother on land owned by one of her descendants, she becomes a New Orleans witch, and we, as her family, share in that ancestral magic."

"We're vampires, Elijah. We can't practice magic. Or own property, for that matter," Rebekah reminded him.

"Yes. With regard to practicing magic, that's where Sophie Deveraux comes in," Elijah explained.

"Whoa, wait," I interrupted, putting my hands up. "We're _actually_ going to team up with Sophie Deveraux? How many times has she tried to ruin us?"

"I understand your concerns, Juliet," Elijah said. "But we need this done or we'll all be done for."

He was right, of course. So, I shut my mouth and leaned back in the chair.

Elijah continued with the plan. "After we bury our mother, we can channel all her power to Sophie. As conduits of Esther's magic, we must also participate in the Harvest. And, as for owning property, not all of our mother's descendants are dead..."

"Baby Gilbert," I said in surprise. Esther was Baby Gilbert's grandmother.

Elijah nodded. "The baby. The parish Tax Assessor's office is just steps outside of the Quarter. You, Juliet, now hold the title to the plantation. So, if we bury our mother there, and we consecrate those grounds, we can finish the Harvest ritual."

"You're a bit of a mad genius, Elijah," Klaus said eventually, but he grinned his crazy grin. "Count me in."

"Am I the only one thinking?" Rebekah questioned. "Our mother was the most powerful witch in history. If we bury her, we hand that power to our enemies to use against us."

"Given our circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice, Rebekah," Elijah argued.

Rebekah sighed in frustration. "I don't know why I bother. You two will just do what you want anyway."

"No. Our decision must be unanimous," Elijah countered.

"This is not a democracy," Klaus argued.

"You're quite right. This is family," Elijah protested, and he was interrupted by the sound of powerful rain pouring down on the house. "Water. The next sign's begun. Rebekah?"

"Kill a demon today, face the devil tomorrow. Count me in," Rebekah gave in.

Elijah turned to me. "Juliet?"

I huffed. "I don't have much of a choice, do I? Without me it won't work."

"Well, this is no family reunion without our mother," Klaus smirked. "I'll fetch her."

* * *

Rain beat down on my umbrella as Klaus, Elijah, Sophie, Father Kieran and I were waiting in the backyard of the plantation house, where we'd dug a grave for Esther. Rebekah, who was given the task of bringing Davina and Marcel, strolled over.

"Did you find them? Will he bring her?" Klaus asked.

"He'll bring her," Rebekah answered solemn.

"Are you ready to do this?" Kieran asked.

Klaus nodded. "Always and forever."

He took a dagger out and sliced his palm open, dripping the blood over Esther's grave. He handed the blade to Rebekah, who did the same, then to Elijah, who also did the same. When the blade came to me, I gritted my teeth as I dragged the knife along my hand and poured my blood (also Baby Gilbert's blood) into Esther's grave.

Once we'd all dripped our blood into the grave, Father Kieran took the knife and threw it into the grave as well. "It's done," Kieran said.

* * *

We then travelled to the cemetery where we'd join Sophie in waiting for Marcel and Davina to show up to complete the Harvest. Suddenly, flames started to erupt near the entrance, making everyone jump.

"Fire," Sophie breathed.

After a moment, Marcel appeared, carrying Davina in his arms. Poor little thing looked frail and practically dead in Marcel's arms, and my maternal instincts kicked in as I longed to get Davina out of here. As he walked toward us, flames followed Marcel and Davina in a trail that licked at Marcel's heals. Once they got to the altar, Marcel set her down, and Sophie held the ceremonial athame over the flames before she headed toward Davina.

"Do you believe in the harvest?" Sophie asked.

Though she clearly didn't, Davina swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded, "I believe."

Once she said the words, Sophie raised the blade and slit Davina's throat with it. I gasped as loudly as Davina did. Davina grabbed at her throat before she fell back. Marcel caught her and laid her down on the ground. Just then, the rain stopped, and Davina's skin glowed gold as the magic began leaving her body and flowing into the earth.

"After the Harvest comes the Reaping. Their sacrifices made and accepted. We call upon our Elders to resurrect the chosen ones," Sophie declared, and we all waited for Davina and the other three girls to awaken, but nothing happened.

"We call upon our Elders to resurrect the chosen ones..." Sophie repeated, but still, nothing happened. Sophie began getting flustered as she pleaded, "Resurrect your chosen ones... Please? I beg..." There was still nothing, and Sophie fell to her knees and sobbed. "No!"

Tears of my began streaming down my face, and I felt Rebekah wrapping her arm around me, and she was also crying.

Amazingly, I didn't feel alone. I felt like...I was with family.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Sorry for the late and shitty chapter but Ripples of Reality is all caught up so I'm back to working on this one more frequently!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	13. Dance Back From the Grave

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the shortness of this chapter! The next one will probably be longer.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"This isn't gonna work if you keep moving," Hayley pointed out.

"Well I feel assaulted."

"Hold still!"

"Did you dip your hands in ice or something?" I complained as I shoved Hayley's freezing hands off of my bulging stomach.

"Come _on_! I wanna feel my niece kick!" Hayley argued as she put her hands firmly back on top of my stomach.

The two of us were put in lock down mode because of the witches that were attacking vampires, and Klaus didn't put it past the witches to try and hurt me and Baby Gilbert. It was weird, I know I was part witch, but I hadn't attempted any magic before. Maybe I should try.

Hayley and I were trying to decipher some of Davina's old sketches, but she got bored and I started getting a little upset so we abandoned the sketches and began talking about Baby Gilbert. I told Hayley that she kicked last night, and she got really excited and wanted to play with Baby Gilbert.

"So, any names yet?" Hayley asked as she moved her hands along my stomach.

"A) Get gloves," I muttered. "And B), a few. You said Angela, Elijah suggested Isabella, and I like Charlotte. I'll have to keep thinking, though."

"Are you scared to be in labour?"

"A little," I admitted. "I've read a few of the books, but I'm still nervous. The books never said anything about giving birth to a part werewolf, part vampire, part witch child."

A tiny flutter occured in my stomach, and I knew Baby Gilbert had kicked. Hayley gasped as she felt Baby Gilbert's teeny foot. "I felt it! She kicked! That's amazing!"

I started laughing when the door opened, and Elijah stepped in. His gaze flickered to Hayley, who dropped her gaze from him as Elijah looked over at me. "Have you seen Rebekah?"

I shook my head. "No, Hayley and I have been here all day. Why? Did something happen?"

Elijah didn't say anything as he turned around and walked out the door. Hayley and I exchanged looks of bewilderment and got up to go and follow Elijah.

"You can't just _not_ answer my question, you know," I pointed out as I followed him to the compound.

"Rebekah is not answering her calls," Elijah answered.

"You worried about whoever killed those daywalkers still being out there?" Hayley asked.

"Frankly, I'm worried that she had something to do with this," Elijah answered. "She's very displeased with Niklaus, perhaps even conspiring with others."

"Okay, but who's _not_ displeased with Klaus?" Hayley pointed out.

One of the vampires, Thierry, was drinking alone at a table. Elijah began powerwalking to him, and Hayley and I hastily followed.

"Thierry, is it?" Elijah asked.

"That's right," Thierry answered.

"My sister is rather fond of you," Elijah said. "Strange, she's not typically drawn to unremarkable men. Would you care to explain your sudden magnetism?"

"I don't know what you're-" Thierry began, but Elijah, obviously fed up, cut him off by grabbing him by the throat and pushing him against the wall.

"Elijah!" I gasped as Hayley automatically moved me behind her.

"You can either tell me what you know, or I can distribute tiny pieces of you throughout the Quarter," Elijah threatened.

Thierry sighed as he answered, "She asked me to keep an eye out on witch stuff. I found something, and when I showed her, we were jumped by some guy. He desiccated her with his touch."

"Like a coward, you left her," Elijah concluded.

"What was I supposed to do, fight some warlock that took out an Original?" Thierry asked.

"Where was this, exactly?" Elijah asked.

"The docks, warehouse 57. I was just doing what she asked. You cannot tell Klaus about this," Thierry begged.

After a moment, Elijah snapped Thierry's neck and allowed him to drop to the ground. "I shall take that into consideration."

"I'm coming with you," I automatically said.

"No. Stay here. The compound is safe," Elijah refused.

I gave him a look. "Listen here, buddy. I'm always in constant trouble so I might as well try to make myself useful. Plus, come on, it's _Rebekah_. I _have_ to go."

Eljah paused for a moment, before sighing deeply. "Do not leave my sight. Understand?"

I nodded quickly, and he turned to Hayley, who stiffened a little. "Do not let her out of your sight, either."

I looked between the two of them. "Hello? Standing _right here_."

* * *

"Rebekah!" Elijah ran over to his little sister, who was laying on the ground unconscious. He was also on the phone with Sophie and when he tried to kneel down next to her, he was stopped by a barrier made by a circle of salt that surrounded Rebekah.

"What's going on, why can't you get to her?" I asked.

"Some kind of boundary spell. Someone is channelling her. Typically, it's a lethal process, but because she's an Original, she can't die. Instead, she's an endless source of power," Elijah explained.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Hayley questioned.

"You have to get her out of there," a panicked Elijah said on the other line to Sophie. "No, you're not listening! We cannot enter the circle. There's some kind of confinement spell... If I can't remove her, we can't break the link."

"It's a convoluted spell. It's like a witch's recipe," Sophie explained. "You can spoil the balance by adding a more potent ingredient. A mystical binding agent. I don't know, volcanic ash, rock salt... anything up to and including eye of newt."

"What about the blood of a witch?" Elijah asked.

Sophie paused on the other end. "Do you have the blood of a witch?"

Elijah turned to me. "I need a favor."

I nodded immediately and held out my wrist to him. "Baby Gilbert and I. We're witches."

Elijah took my wrist gently into his hand. I knew that this was the last thing that he wanted, but if it would save Rebekah, I was all for it. He extended his fangs and gingerly bit into my wrist to draw blood. I winced a little as he punctured my wrist, but I held my breath to block out the pain as we walked towards the magic circle together.

Elijah held out my wrist and let the blood fall on the magic boundary line. It started to fizzle and deteriorate as the wound on my wrist began to close up due to Baby Gilbert's superpowers.

Elijah was able to get through, and he quickly picked up Rebekah and took her out of the circle. He turned around and held out his hand for me. I carefully placed my own into it, and I turned to offer Hayley my own hand. She quickly took it, and Elijah vamp sped out of the docks with the two of us in tow.

* * *

I was rather curious about my magic. Here I was, with magic, and not doing anything. For the first time today when Elijah took my blood to save Rebekah, I felt needed. I felt..._important_. And I didn't want that feeling to go away.

That was what led me to knocking on Elijah's door. "It's Juliet!"

The door immediately opened. I gulped as I took in Elijah's tall, handsome frame. "What is it? Are you all right? You aren't hurt from earlier, are you?"

"What? No," I waved away. A thought crossed my mind. "I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. Anything you need, I'm always here to help."

My heart warmed at the thought. Ack, stop it, heart! "Um, I was just wondering if you still had your mother's grimoire."

Elijah nodded, but he had a look of confusion on his face. "Yes, I should still have it. Why are you asking?"

I took a deep breath. "For the first time ever, I felt like I was important, because of my witch blood. I want to learn more about that kind of stuff. About my magic, my witch family, spells, all that kind of stuff. And I wanted to start by looking at a few spells. You don't mind, do you?"

Elijah shook his head. "Not at all. You have a right to want to know about your family and yourself. Just give me a moment." Elijah turned around and went back into his room. I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds until he reappeared holding up Esther's grimoire. "Here. Be sure to let me know if anything happens."

I nodded. "I will, don't worry." I reached for the book and when I did, my hand briefly touched Elijah's. I yanked my hand back, feeling as if someone had sent an electric current through it. Elijah's face looked the same, so I shrugged it off as I just grabbed the book from his hands. "I'll take good care of it, I promise!" I called out behind me as I ran for my room.

Dear God, that was mortifying.

I got to my room, leaping for my bed as I sat down. When Elijah used my blood to break the seal today, it made me realize how useless I really was and how much protection people put over me, especially Hayley. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her while I was in some sort of position to help her with my magic. I was done with being the one that needed constant protection.

I opened the grimoire and immediately the Latin began making my head spin.

"_Whoa_," I said as I took it in. "This could take a while." I looked down at my stomach. "You up for it, Baby G?"

I felt a light kick, and I gasped as my hands went to my stomach. Could Baby Gilbert actually hear me? Or was it just a coincidence?

Whatever it was, it made me grin. "Then let's do this."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Hope you loved it!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	14. Crescent City

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **10 more episodes till season 2! I'm so excited!

For those of you wondering how to pronounce Juliet's birth name, it's EV-MEL-EE-A. It's Greek.

ANYWAYS!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"All right, Baby Girl," I muttered to Baby Gilbert as I held the palm of my hands out. "Please don't let Mommy down."

I was sitting in the middle of a circle of candles, and I was trying to light them all at the same time. I could light one, of course, that was after I concentrated _really really _hard.

Once I realized how good it felt to feel powerful, I had been trying more and more to use my magic. Especially now that I had a legit reason to do so.

The full moon was rapidly approaching (as in tonight) and while every other werewolf on the planet would become wolves, my Crescent wolf family would become humans. I was safe, because I was untriggered and I was pregnant (apparently you didn't change when you were pregnant, something about protecting the baby) but Hayley, on the other hand, would become a wolf. This was her only chance to speak with our family and get to know who she was, and she was missing it.

I, for one, didn't want her to miss it. That was why I spent nights upon nights pouring through Esther's grimoire trying to find something that helped. And after sleepless nights, I finally found something.

A linking spell.

In hopes that the spell would work, it meant that whatever happened to me, would happen to Hayley. So I wouldn't change on the full moon and neither would Hayley. It was like when I was tied to the life of Sophie Deveraux, except Sophie Deveraux was freaking crazy.

Back to the candles. I told myself that if I could light all of these candles on my first try, I would attempt the spell. The last thing I needed was for this spell to malfunction.

Now, I had only been using my powers for about a week, but I had faith in my magic-Tyler had said that my witch side was filled with powerful people. And Baby Gilbert had power in her too, through the Original Witch Esther, so I had that on my side, too.

I closed my eyes, willing my magic to flow through my body and to my fingertips. I let my body become overtaken with the feeling of magic that made my entire body tingle, especially in my up turned hands. I took a few deep breaths as I focused as hard as I could, then incantated, "_Phasmatos Incendia_."

I slowly peeked my eyes open and gasped when I saw that not only had all the candles around me been lit, but the candles that were here previously were lit as well. I laughed gleefully as I got to my feet and ran over to where I had left Esther's grimoire. Before I opened it, I turned to all the candles. I lifted my arm, concentrating again on the thought of all the candles being put out at once. "_Suctus Incendia_," I breathed, and I made a swift gesture with my arm and when I opened my eyes, the fires had been extinguished. I squealed excitedly as I flipped the book open to the linking spells section and read what I needed.

-My blood

-The person that I want to link myself to's blood

-the spell

Seemed simple enough. I grabbed the grimoire and ran down to the kitchen, where Hayley was making me lunch. I skidded to a stop when I saw her there, shoving the grimoire behind me so she didn't see.

"Hey," She said brightly when she saw me. She was cutting vegetables for a salad. "I thought we'd go for something light for lunch. I know you've been getting sick recently after eating a lot. I figured you can't go wrong with a salad and some bread-ow!"

She was so distracted with talking to me that she wasn't watching where she was cutting. She accidentally skidded the knife on her finger. She winced, dropping the knife. She instantly stuck her finger into her mouth, trying to stop the bleeding. "Do you mind getting me a bandage?" She asked.

I grabbed them from the medicine cabinet and discreetly took the knife that had droplets of Hayley's blood as I handed her the bandages. I grabbed a glass and the jug of strawberry milkshake that I had made the other day as well as a spoon before scurrying out of the room.

Once I got back to my bedroom, I let the few droplets that were on the knife fall into the glass. The spell didn't say that you needed a lot of blood, so I just had to pray that a little would work. I held my breath as I dragged the knife along the palm of my hand and then let some of the blood that drew out fall into the glass. My wound closed up (thank you, Baby Gilbert!) as I grabbed the jug of strawberry milkshake, pouring it into the glass. The blood mixed a little with the milkshake, but I grabbed the spoon and mixed the two liquids together just to blend it better. I dropped the spoon and grabbed the glass in my hands. I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes, concentrating. I had to spell the liquid so that once Hayley and I both drank from it, we'd be connected.

"_Link mihi preconor_," I breathed, and I felt the glass in my hand to start warming up. This was a lot bigger and more challenging spell than the fire spell, so I could feel myself starting to get a little tired. But I pressed on. "_Link mihi preconor_," I said again, and I could feel my muscles starting to tighten at my power being drained into this one spell. I was breathing a little heavily, but the spell required you to read it three times, so I pushed through it as I said, "_Link mihi preconor_!"

The effect afterwards was instantaneous. I fumbled with the glass in my hands, but I managed to put it upright on to the table before I felt myself going weak at the knees. I grabbed the edge of the table for support, but I let go of my grip and fell to the ground, twisting my body last second so that I landed on my side. Black spots were dotting my eyes and finally, my eyes rolled into the back of my head as I passed out.

* * *

I felt someone shaking me and my head pounded as I returned to consciousness. "Juliet!" I faintly heard Hayley's voice, and I shakily opened my eyes to see her leaning over me in concern. She breathed in relief when she saw me open my eyes. "What the hell happened?" Her far away voice said.

I blinked away the dizziness as she put her arm around me, helping me to sit up. "I was doing a spell," I answered as I put my hand to my forehead. "I guess it took more out of me than I thought."

"What the hell were you trying to do?" She asked as she helped me stand up.

I looked over to the glass that was miraculously still in tact. "No time to explain," I said as I grabbed it. I pinched my nose before taking a sip. After I did, I shoved it at Hayley. "Drink this."

She eyed it. "Why?"

"Just do it!"

"Jules, I'm not going to drink it unless I know what it is," Hayley said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

I huffed in defeat, lowering my glass. "You know how the full moon is tonight?"

Hayley's eyes darkened. I was pretty sure she didn't need a reminder that I was going to be a human to speak to our family while she was going to be a wolf. "Yeah," She said, her throat tightening.

"Well, in this glass is the ingredients for a linking spell," I explained, and Hayley's eyes widened. "I just figured that we should give it a try because I know how much you want to meet your biological family and I felt so guilty that I'd stay human while you changed so I thought that if we did this then your body wouldn't turn because mine won't and-"

I was cut off by Hayley surging forward and wrapping me up into a hug. I had to be careful that I didn't drop the glass in my hand, but I awkwardly hugged her back with only one arm. I could feel her body tremble a little against mine as she cried a bit. Hayley wasn't a big crier, so I knew this had to be big.

She pulled away, a smile crossing her face. "I love you, Jules," She started. "I am so thankful that you are a part of my family because no one has cared for me as much as you have. Thank you for wanting to do this for me."

"So, will you drink it?" I asked giddily.

She took the glass from my hands, heaving a sigh. "What's the harm in it?" She asked. "If it works, then it works, and if it doesn't, then you just have to tell me how great our family is."

"I won't tell you because it _will_ work," I said.

She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. She made a bit of a disgusted face at the flavour but lowered the glass and put it down on the table. "Did it work?" Hayley asked.

"Only one way to find out," I answered as I grabbed the knife from before. I poked a small hole in the palm of my hand, and Hayley instantly hissed, bringing her hand up to see a small spot of blood coming out of an identical wound.

We both breathed in relief. "Let's just hope that it works for other things too," Hayley said. "How long will the spell last?"

"A day, I think," I said. "That should be more than enough."

"Here's hoping."

* * *

Apparently, the Harvest _had_ worked, but not in the way that we thought it was. This guy, Papa Tunde, had been brought back during the Harvest and after he died, Monique Deveraux was brought back. Klaus thought the witches were declaring war on us, so he decided to send me and Baby Gilbert down to the plantation where we were staying before Klaus took New Orleans back.

"I thought I was gonna have to drag you to the plantation kicking and screaming," Rebekah confessed as she, Hayley, and I walked to the front porch.

"Anything to protect Baby Gilbert, right?" I huffed as I practically waddled next to my friends.

Rebekah raised her eyes in disbelief. "Hey, I'm on your side, remember? So, what gives?"

I sighed a little. "It's a full moon tonight, Rebekah."

"So what? You're preggers, and untriggered, for that matter; you can't turn."

"I know, but Hayley and I wanted to invite a few people over," I said, looking over at my cousin.

Rebekah sighed. "Of course. Every red-blooded American werewolf will be a bundle of fur and sharp teeth tonight, whilst your cursed Crescent Clan will be–"

"Human, but only for a few hours, and won't be again until the next full moon, so..." Hayley trailed off a bit. "I asked Josh to get a message out to Eve in the Bayou."

"Josh isn't dead yet? Well good on him. I love a nice survival story," Rebekah said.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the guy who Hayley and I hired to bring the kegs and food over came out of the house, wheeling a dolly.

"Who the bloody hell is that?" Rebekah asked.

Hayley cleared her throat before turning to the guy. "Kegs out back, right?"

The man nodded, tipping his hat at us. "Yup," He said as he got into his car to leave.

"Right," Rebekah said, amusement in her tone. "It appears you weren't gonna wait for me to grant you permission to throw a kegger."

"Okay, you guys want to lock me in a house to keep me safe? Fine, I'll do it," I said as I rest my hands on top of my stomach. "But tonight is the one night a month that Hayley and I can meet our biological family and learn something about ourselves. So you can rat us out and lock me in a tower, or you can help us throw the biggest party New Orleans has ever seen."

Hayley and I looked at Rebekah hopefully, holding our breath as we anticipated her answer.

* * *

"We're so lucky that Rebekah's good to us," Hayley said as we hung up some clothes for the Crescent werewolves to wear when they turned into humans.

"No," I said as I hung up a large male t-shirt. "We're just lucky that she has a rebellious streak in her."

Hayley snorted with laughter as we put up the last of the clothing.

I was patting down the clothes on the clothesline when I felt a pair of eyes on me. I looked over in the direction of the eyes and smiled gently when I recognized the person staring at me not to be a person at all. It was the wolf that had been protecting me. "Look," I said to Hayley, pointing over at my wolfy friend. I walked over to him but still kept my distance. "Hey," I said as I leaned over, putting my hands on my knees the best I could with my pregnant belly. "I can't wait to meet you."

* * *

I smiled happily at the scene that was unfolding before me. The full moon had passed, and Hayley was still a human, meaning at my magic worked. It put me in a really good mood, better than I was in before, so I felt like I was filled with energy. Which was great, because waiting on a bunch of wolves turned humans was harder than I thought it was going to be.

It was great to watch Hayley laugh and talk with our family. I had never seen her so happy. I hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk to them, mainly because while I thought it was great they were my biological family, the Gilberts were the family that I had.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned my head to see one of the Crescent wolves, but of course, he was a human. "Hey," He greeted, his shaggy, curly brown hair falling into his eyes. "I'm Jackson."

"Juliet. Hi," I said in mild surprise. "Um, enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, yeah," He said. "Thanks for doing this, by the way."

"It's more for Hayley," I told him as I looked back over at my cousin. "She's wanted something like this her whole life."

"That's really nice of you," Jackson said. "How is she here, anyways? I mean, as a human?"

"I did a bit of magic," I said proudly as I poured myself some water. "I'm part witch, you know."

"Yeah, I know," He said. "It's nice to see you again."

"Again?" I asked, puzzled. I looked over at him. "When have we met before-" The sentence died in my throat when I finally got a good look at his eyes. "Wait...are you the wolf that's been watching me?"

Jackson nodded. "I gotta keep my eye on you. Precious cargo and all."

"Cargo?" I inquired, then looked down at my stomach. "Oh right. Protect Baby Gilbert."

"Yeah," Jackson replied. "But that's not really what I meant. I don't care about the baby."

I raised my eyebrows a little. "Good to know," I said slowly.

Jackson winced and shook his head. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I mean, of course I care. You're a Labonair, through your mother. A baby, it's a big deal. But personally, my interest is in you."

"Me?" I blurted. "Why?"

"Our parents knew each other. They were of the same people, but not the same bloodline. Now, you know how pack hierarchy works, right?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Believe it or not, I know pretty much nothing when it comes to werewolves. I'm untriggered."

Jackson lifted his eyebrows in surprise, but pressed on. "Everybody has their part to play, and... well, my part was to protect you."

"_Protect_ me?" I asked as I raised my own eyebrows. "Why?"

"Well, technically I'm supposed to protect you by extension and association," He said.

"Uh, want to clarify that a bit?" I questioned.

Jackson sighed a little, and his eyes left mine to travel in another direction. I followed his gaze to Hayley. "Is this about Hayley?" I asked.

"She was supposed to be my wife," Jackson revealed.

My jaw dropped. "What?"

* * *

Jackson and I moved to the living room where he started playing the piano that was in there. I stood next to him, leaning on the piano while I tried to digest what was going on.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Jackson said as he played.

"I'll say," I muttered to myself. "All Hayley and I wanted to do was meet our family. I didn't think I'd be meeting my cousin in law from my cousin's weird-ass arranged marriage."

"I guess you don't know about any of this because there was never anyone around to teach you," Jackson explained. "The Crescents aren't just any pack of wolves. The bloodline goes back to the very beginning. Two families-– yours and Hayley's, and mine. I guess that makes us kind of a royalty."

"Royalty?" I asked. "I'm not royalty."

"Of course you are," Jackson insisted. "Not just with the werewolves, but with the witches. The witches around here just don't want you to know because once you can hone your skills, you'll become even more powerful than they are."

"I really can't believe this," I told him. "If we're royalty, what are we royalty _of_?"

"New Orleans used to be our town, and we lost it all because of some in-fighting," Jackson explained. "The vampires came after us, and if our families were united, we could've taken them. So, our parents decided to bring the two lines back together, and... Hayley and I were betrothed."

"Okay, but if you and _Hayley_ are engaged, why are you all protective of me?" I demanded.

Jackson shrugged a little. "Like I said before, I was pretty much assigned to protect you too. You're family. You're one of the girls that got sent away to protect you. Originally, we were going to send Hayley with you because she was already a few years old, but we couldn't after the two of you were split up. You were lucky that you ended up with the Gilbert family. Your Dad was good friends with Grayson, which is why he took you in."

"Wow," I said, shaking my head. All this new information was making my head hurt. "This is a lot to take in."

"Look, obviously things didn't work out the way anyone thought they would," Jackson said as he got up and walked over to me. "Our pack made a huge misstep with the vampires when we refused to back down, and Marcel had us cursed by a witch. You are the last one of your bloodline, Eumelia. Or Juliet, whatever you call yourself. These people will follow you. You can help them- you and what you represent."

"Me? Follow _me_?" I repeated. "No, no, no, no! I can't have people following me! No one listens to me! I'm not a good influence! Once I told my younger brother Jeremy to take a cookie out of the cookie jar and then I blamed him for it! That's not the kind of person you want to be a leader!"

Jackson was laughing now. "I'm sorry, I had no idea that you were so funny."

I gave him an attempted glare. "Back to what I represent. What do I represent?"

Jackson quickly sobered up as he answered. "A time when things were different. When our people fought back. And after everything you went through to find us... You're the one who's gonna break our curse."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your witch friend. She told Eve she was coming here tonight to set us free," Jackson told me.

"Whoa, take _two_ steps back," I said, putting my hands up. As far as I knew, I _had_ no witch friends. "What witch friend are you talking about?"

* * *

Jackson and I ran to go find Hayley. Earlier when we talked about the Harvest ritual, Hayley had suggested that Celeste had returned, and now I was positive she was right.

"Juliet," Elijah breathed heavily on the other line when I called him.

"Yeah, hey," I said quickly. "Listen, something's going on. I think something's happening with the witches."

"Listen to me," Elijah said carefully. "Hayley was right. Celeste is back. Niklaus, Rebekah, Hayley- you're all in danger."

The door was suddenly clapped shut by a huge gust of wind, causing Hayley, Jackson, and I all to jump as we were startled.

"What's going on?" Jackson asked.

"We're in a trap, we didn't ask any witch for help," I told him.

"What?" Jackson asked in disbelief.

I turned back to the phone. "Juliet, you have to find Rebekah. You stay with her until I get there."

Hayley, Jackson, and I ran to the front door to look for Rebekah. However, when we got to the front door, it wouldn't open.

"Shit," I cursed to myself as Jackson and Hayley both tried slamming their weight against the door to get it to open. I brought the phone back to my ear. "Elijah, there's a boundary spell. Whoever's doing is this is keeping us trapped inside the house."

"We _have _to get out of here," Hayley insisted. She turned to me. "Try your magic!"

"Right!" I said as I ran over to the front door. I brought my hands up and held them out in front of me. I closed my eyes as I imagined the door being busted down. I thrust my hands forward but when I opened my eyes, the door was still in tact. I huffed in defeat as I brought my hands down. "Well, that's not gonna work."

Jackson grabbed the piano stool and threw it against the window. But instead of the window shattering, the stool shattered on impact. Suddenly, the smell of smoke invaded my senses and when I looked out the window, I saw a fire surrounding the house that was now getting _into_ the house.

"Jackson! Hayley! There's fire!" I alerted them as I spun around.

They figured it out pretty fast when the fire got into the house, scorching the curtains and the carpet. I turned around and held my hands out to the flames. "_Suctus Incendia_," I incantated, trying to douse the flames as best as I could. Unfortunately, that only caused the flames to grow and jump up higher. Jackson grabbed my arms and pulled me back before my face could get burned.

"No, it's no use," I said as I looked over at them. "The spell's been protected against any counter spells."

Jackson grabbed a tablecloth from an end table and poured the water from a vase of flowers on to it before handing it to Hayley. "Here, breathe through this."

Hayley shook her head but took the cloth and then handed it to me. "You use it."

"Hayley, I can't-" I tried arguing, but she shook her head insistently.

"You're the one that's breathing for two," She said as she grabbed my hand and put the cloth into it, smashing it against my mouth. She dropped her hand, but I kept my hand on my mouth as I breathed through the cloth. It helped a little but some smoke made its way into my lungs, and I coughed, hard, trying to clear my lungs.

The fire continued to grow in size, burning its way up the walls toward the ceiling. Suddenly, the sound of the window shattering alerted us to someone on the other side. We all turned to see Elijah throwing himself through the wall from the outside. His eyes searched the faces until he found mine. He grabbed me and vamp sped me outside where it was safe.

"Where's Rebekah?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know," I coughed as I dropped the cloth from my mouth. "Last I saw she was with one of the werewolves." I frantically tried to stand. "Elijah, Hayley and Jackson are still in there." I grabbed a hold of his arm and squeezed it, hard. "_Please_, you have to save them."

Elijah sighed, but he got up and rushed back inside. A few seconds after, he vamp sped back outside, Jackson in one arm and Hayley in the other. He dropped them both gently on the ground next to me, and I crawled over to Hayley. "Hayley, are you okay?" I asked her.

She was in a coughing fit, but she slowly overcame it as she wheezed, "I'm fine."

I looked over to Jackson. "Are _you _okay?"

He nodded slowly. "A few more seconds and we would have been done for."

I looked up at Elijah, giving him a smile that showed my gratitude. "Thank you," I said sincerely as I helped my friends stand up.

Once I got them standing, we made our way to the front of the plantation house and watched it burn.

Jackson suddenly sighed, and I realized why when he pointed up at the sky. "I have to go. The moon."

He had to go before he transitioned back into a wolf. When he turned around to leave, I grabbed his arm, digging my fingernails into his skin. "Jackson, wait."

He turned around so that he was listening to me. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say thanks for protecting me," I told him. "And not just tonight." I leaned over and gave him a tentative hug.

He awkwardly hugged me back but released me quick enough. "I have been dreaming about meeting you two since I was a kid. I never thought it would go like this."

I grabbed his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Listen to me. I'm not gonna rest until I can find a way to break the Crescent curse. I promise you that."

Jackson didn't say anything, but he gave me a small smile before gazing longingly at Hayley for a few seconds. Then, he turned around and walked back into the forest, disappearing until the next time I saw him, probably as a wolf.

I looked over at Hayley, who was watching the exchange with confused eyes. "Oh yeah, that was your fiancé."

Hayley's eyes bugged out of her head. "My _what_?"

I scrunched up my face in realization when I remembered that she hadn't been there for the explanation. "Right, come on," I said as I went over to her and put my arm around her. "I'll explain it all to you when we get home."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Till the next update! **

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	15. Long Way Back From Hell

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Determined to get through this!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ever since the attack on me by Celeste, Elijah had pretty much put me on lockdown in the compound. I'd only left my room once to go to Hayley's room to take back the huge sweater she had borrowed from me.

Rebekah and Klaus were both still nowhere to be found, so Marcel had his daywalkers pouring all of New Orleans trying to find them. I wanted to join the search to and try to exercise my magic a little, but Elijah would hear none of it.

Just as I was passing one of the many studies here, I heard a voice call out, "Juliet!"

"Elijah? Is that you?" I asked as I stepped into the study. "Did you find out anything-" I stopped myself and faltered in my step when I saw that Elijah was shirtless and had tattoos all over him. "And oh my God you're shirtless," I blurted. I gulped, trying not to stare at his huge arm muscles, stomach muscles, shoulder muscles... "What's going on?"

"I need you to make a list of these names," Elijah told me as he gestured to the names on his body that I didn't even notice at first because I was so busy admiring his body.

I was also too distracted to notice that Hayley was also in the room, and she was giving me a knowing look. I ignored it in favour of turning to the task at hand. "'Sabine'?" I read aloud. "Elijah, what the hell is all this?"

"I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries," Elijah answered as Marcel walked in with a piece of paper and a pen.

He handed both to me as he said, "It's called a Devinette. It's old school. Kind of a riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it, and it disappears."

"And why would we do that?" I questioned.

"Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game. The longer the game, the more they suffer," Elijah answered, and I felt my stomach drop as I froze while I was writing. "If Klaus and Rebekah were still missing, that meant that he picked _me_. "To find Klaus and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle. The solution lies somewhere in these names."

"The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but I can find out," Marcel offered.

* * *

I tapped my left hand against my knees, drawing a pattern on my jeans as I knawed on a carrot stick using my right hand. I was curled up on the huge chair that was in one of the studies as Hayley laid down on the couch and flipped through one of the baby books we had bought.

Elijah picked me over Klaus and Rebekah, his siblings for hundreds and hundreds of years. I mean, I knew that Elijah wanted to protect the baby, and maybe I was reading too much into it, but I had a feeling there was more to it.

Wow, how shallow had I gotten?

I turned to Hayley when I couldn't keep it in anymore. "Why do you think that Elijah picked me over his siblings?"

Hayley barely looked up from the book as she answered, "Isn't it obvious? The guy's in love with you."

My stomach dropped, and I could feel the colour leaving my cheeks. "Excuse me?"

She finally looked at me. "Oh, I'm sorry, should I have prepared you more for that? Kinda like how you prepared me when you told me that Jackson was my fiance?"

I gave her a look. "Oh come on, that's totally different!"

Hayley made a face for a second before nodding. "Yeah, you're right, it is. But I'm not kidding."

"He can't be in love with me," I dismissed, wrapping my blanket tighter around me.

"And why not?" Hayley asked. "Look at you, Juliet. You're smart, strong, beautiful. How could Elijah not fall for you?"

"Because I'm a mess!" I retorted. "Hayley, I'm pregnant with his brother's part vampire, part werewolf, part witch daughter. I can't remember anything about either of them. Everyone is out to get this family and I don't think that my child could be safe. As it is the entire French Quarter is being bombarded with witch attacks, our werewolf family has been cursed to be wolves all nights _other_ than the full moon, I have no idea who my witch family is, and Rebekah and Klaus have disappeared. Besides, a boyfriend is the _last_ thing that I need right now."

I was breathless after my rant, and Hayley could clearly see that. She steeled herself before asking, "How long have you been keeping that in?"

"Pretty much since the first day I've been here," I informed her with a nod.

"Right," She said. "Well, if a boyfriend isn't what you want, you've still got your cousin, you know that, right?"

I smiled at her. "Yeah. Thanks, by the way. For not leaving my side, especially with this family."

She shrugged a little. "You're family"

My cell phone rang, and I pulled my hand out from under my blanket, reached over, and grabbed it from the table that was beside my chair. _Speak of the devil_... I thought to myself as I answered. "Elijah. Did you find out anything?"

"It seems Annie La Fleur was the cause of her own end," Elijah reported.

Hayley and I exchanged looks. "Are you saying she killed herself?" I asked.

"Yes, drowned herself in the Mississippi, to be precise," Elijah answered. "Celeste was clearly tired of the body and ready to take Sabine's."

"How do you know that?" I questioned as I sat up.

"Because she leaped to her death from the very location Celeste and I had our first kiss," He said.

I winced. "If she was trying to make the death all meaningful and beautiful she certainly chose it to do it in a dramatic way."

"All these names, these lives, stolen that Celeste might take her revenge," Elijah said. "I suppose we have no choice but to see where they take us. Hayley, I have to go. I'll call you back."

A thought struck my mind. "Elijah, wait!"

"What is it?"

"Ask Marcel if he knows something about a name on that list- Brynne Deveraux. Sophie said that it was her family's bloodline that put the curse on our Crescent wolves, but Celeste said that she was the only one that could break it. If Brynne Deveraux was actually Celeste when she cast the spell, then maybe Celeste can still break it," I suggested.

"I'll see what he knows," Elijah agreed.

"Thank you," I said sincerely. "And Elijah, I really am sorry that you have to do this. If someone had told me that Celeste was going to make you choose who to help-"

Elijah cut me off. "You were going to die in that fire, Juliet, along with my brother's child, and your own family. There was no choice." He hung up before I could add anything else.

I sighed a little as I turned off my phone. I wrapped my blanket around me so that it was covering my neck and leaned back. I bit into my carrot and chewed thoughtfully.

"Well, how about we do a little research of our own?" Hayley asked. "Let's find out some information about some of the names on the list."

"Sure," I answered as Hayley grabbed her laptop from the desk.

Hayley typed in Clara Summerlin's name into the search bar and we spent the next little while trying to figure something about about this Clara chick.

The door to my room opened, and Elijah walked in. I felt myself flush a little when I remembered Hayley's declaration and shook my face free of it. "Hey, Hayley and I have been-"

"You were right about the Deveraux witch," Elijah interrupted.

Before any of us could say anything, Marcel walked into the room. "Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?"

Hayley shook her head. "Not much. She was a nurse at the Fleur-de-Lis Sanitarium." Hayley clicked on an image and turned it to show them. "Recognize her?" She pointed to Clara. "Top row, second from the right."

Elijah shook his head. "No, I don't. Marcel?"

We all turned to face Marcel, but the sheer look of panic and alarm on his face showed that something was definitely up.

"Marcel? Do I need to remind you that Niklaus and Rebekah are somewhere suffering horribly? If you know something, talk," Elijah demanded as he turned to the younger vampire.

Marcel initially hestiated but finally sighed and said, "The Sanitarium. That's where you'll find them."

"Are you sure? How do you know?" Hayley asked.

"I just know," Marcel replied through gritted teeth.

"But _how_?" I demanded.

"If I'm right, you need to know exactly what we're walking into. We did something, Rebekah and I... I think the witches are trying to use it against her. It was, uh... something that you're not gonna like," Marcel said. "Rebekah and I summoned Mikael to New Orleans in 1919."

"Wait, Mikael as in your Dad Mikael?" I clarified as I pointed at Elijah.

Marcel sucked in a breath. "Yes."

"For the better part of a century, I have wondered how Father found us, what foolish mistake that we had made to destroy our time in the one place that we could finally call home," Elijah said, scarily calm. "Did you know, I even blamed myself for a time, Marcellus?"

Elijah vamp sped at Marcel, grabbing his throat and shoving him against the wall. I threw my blanket off of me as I scrambled to stand up. "Elijah, stop it!"

He ignored me as he growled to Marcel, "Niklaus treated you like a son. Rebekah-"

"I loved her," Marcel interjected. "I still love her. All we ever wanted was to be together, but as long as Klaus was around, that was never gonna happen. But hey, I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?"

"Elijah, put him down," I said. "He's not worth Klaus and Rebekah."

Elijah hesitated, but he dropped Marcel to the ground. "When Klaus learns the truth, there will be no end to his rage," Elijah warned. "I will not let my sister suffer that wrath."

"Then we need to get to them before he learns the truth," Marcel pointed out as he made his way to the door.

Once Marcel walked out, Elijah turned to me. "You are not to leave this house under any circumstance, do you understand me?"

"But Elijah, I can help-" I tried.

"No!" He declined, and I couldn't help but flinch a little. Elijah must have noticed because his face went soft as he grabbed a hold of my hands. He gripped them tightly as he looked me dead in the eyes. "_Please_ Juliet. I need you to remain right here. Do you understand that?"

I bit my lip. I felt so bad, knowing that I was lying to him when he needed me to listen to him. "I'll stay here. Baby Gilbert and I will be fine. You go on, do your thing."

Elijah pressed a quick kiss to my hand, leaving the spot where his lips were feeling tingly. He dropped my hands and went out the door before he could say another word. I looked over at Hayley, who gave me the same knowing look as before. I waited until I heard the front door closed before I opened my mouth, "You want to go find my other people?"

"The witches?" Hayley clarified.

I nodded. "I think we need to talk to a witch about family, don't you?"

Hayley's lips stretched into a grin. "Oh, I really do."

* * *

"I feel so bad for lying to Elijah," I said as I wrapped my arms around me.

"I do too," Hayley said. "But Celeste was the one who put the curse on our family. I don't think Elijah'd mind if it was family."

I opened my mouth to say something but stopped myself when I heard the door to the sanitarium open. Footsteps clicked clacked against the ground, and Hayley griped the shovel in her hand tightly.

She waited until she could correctly identify it to be Celeste and when she did, she swung the shovel at her head.

A loud _thwack_ sound and groan accompanied Celeste as she fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Man, I'm glad that's not me," I said. "Grab her legs?"

* * *

**TBC...**

**Sorry for the short chapter but that means I can finish faster!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	16. Le Grand Guignol

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **I got totally absorbed into a new show so I'm sorry but let's go!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hayley and I stashed Celeste's body into the backseat of Hayley's car, and I went into the passenger seat as Hayley got into the driver's seat and drove us down to the bayou. We met our werewolf family when we got there (the only person who wasn't a wolf was Eve, but otherwise everyone else there was a wolf). Eve helped us bind Celeste's wrists and leaned her against a tree as we waited for her to wake up. We each took a shotgun and aimed it at Celeste.

Her head lolled slightly to the side, a sign of her waking up. Her eyes gently opened, and she groaned when she saw what was going on around her. "So what's this, payback? Look. I'm sorry I tricked you. I wasn't after you," Celeste said sarcastically.

"What, and we were just collateral damage?" Eve hissed. She took a step forward, her gun still trained on Celeste. She nodded at Hayley and I. "You almost burned them and Jackson alive in that plantation fire."

Celeste struggled against the ropes to free herself but stopped when Hayley fired a warning shot in a tree near Celeste. "Careful, Sabine, or Celeste or whatever you like to call yourself. Sudden moves make me jumpy." She cocked the gun again. "And homicidal."

"Nice one," I whispered into her ear.

She smiled a bit. "Thank you."

"What, you're gonna kill me, honey?" Celeste asked, disbelieving.

"No. I know better," Hayley said, and the wolves behind us growled. "See, I know all about you. I know that you like to off yourself and then jump into other people's bodies. Well, that's not gonna happen here. I know I can't kill you, but try hexing me or Juliet, and our friend Eve here will kneecap you. Go for her, and then, well, I'll really make it hurt."

"So, what do you want?" Celeste asked.

I spoke up. "Back in the 90's, you possessed the body of a witch named Brynne Deveraux. Marcel had her- you- put a curse on a lot of werewolves so they'd only turn human on a full moon."

"I see." Celested nodded. "Yes. That was me. Let me guess. You want revenge."

"Well, it's more simple than that, really," I said. "We want you to undo the curse."

* * *

With what looked like a lot of struggling, Celeste managed to mix together some sort of herbs into a jar to make a thick paste. She grabbed the jar and held it up to me. "Here," She said as I took the jar from her. "It's herbs ground into paste. It'll act as a conduit for the spell. On the next full moon, your people become human. Feed it to them, the curse will be broken."

Hayley scoffed as she took the jar from me, shaking it as she inspected it. "Great way to poison us all at once."

"You've got a good point there," I realized, looking over at Celeste.

Celeste sighed. "Look. I know you have no reason to trust me, but, Juliet, I actually like you. I was you, caring for Elijah when he cared more for his brother, and I ended up dead. So did a lot of others. This, call it a chance for me to give you what I was too in love to give myself. It's a chance to free yourself from the Originals."

Eve leaned over to me. "You believe her?"

I certainly didn't want to, but she sounded like she was being sincere. But this was _Celeste_.

She could obviously tell that I wasn't going to trust her, so she made a last ditch effort. "Juliet, you are a New Orleans witch. You don't have much practice with magic, but you can feel its power, can't you?"

My hands _did_ feel tingly when I touched it and just being in its presence was making me feel tingly, but that didn't mean it was a _good_ tingly.

A wolf growled behind us, and I turned around to see Elijah approaching us, making his way through the trees and bushes of the forest.

"Oh no," I muttered to myself. I felt like a kid getting caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing because technically that was what happened.

"Whatever she's promised you, it's a lie," Elijah immediately said as he came over to us.

"Elijah, we're okay. Everything's fine," I said gently.

"She cannot be trusted," Elijah insisted.

"But she's also the only one that can help our family," I pointed out.

"Do you have any idea what she has done to our family?" Elijah asked.

"Look, I know that you want revenge for everything that Celeste has done, and once I'm sure that her cure works, trust me, you can have at it," I informed him.

"Are you suggesting that we hold her captive for an entire month? It would take an army," Elijah argued.

"And we've got one," I said as I looked around at my wolf family, who all howled in agreement. "So you can either fix your hero hair and help or just stay out of the way."

Elijah paused only for a moment before he vamp-sped over to Celeste, grabbed her and the mason jar, and disappeared with her.

"Elijah, wait!" I called, and I moved to go after him, but Eve grabbed my arm before I could leave. I turned my head to face her.

"You trust him, don't you?" She asked, and I automatically nodded. "Then let him handle this."

"I trust _Elijah_," I clarified. "It's _her_ I don't trust."

* * *

The rest of the wolves had gone back to camp with Eve, but Jackson and Hayley had stayed behind. Jackson was sitting in between us, allowing me to scratch the scruff on Jackson's head as I waited anxiously for Elijah to come back. My knees were bouncing uncontrollably as I looked in every direction that Elijah could possibly come in.

Hayley reached over and grabbed my knees, holding them still. "You're giving me motion sickness."

"That's not a thing," I muttered to myself as I stopped bouncing my knees, instead choosing to knock them together.

"Don't worry," She said, moving her hand to stroke Jackson's back. "Elijah can take care of himself."

"I know, I know," I said distractedly. "I just...I still worry."

"I know you do," Hayley said. "But you've got to trust him."

"Just like he trusted me to stay in the house while he dealt with Celeste?" I asked. "Right."

"Hey, you did the right thing, you know that, right?" Hayley asked as she put her hand on my knee. "Elijah can say how much he cares about his family, and these wolves are _your_ family. You were just doing what you could to help them."

I blew air out of my lips. "I guess you're right."

"When will you learn that I'm always right?" She joked as she teasingly punched me on the shoulder.

I smiled as I leaned more against Jackson, feeling his wolfy heat radiating through his fur. I had almost shut my eyes to sleep when I heard footsteps, and I looked up to see Elijah walking back to us.

"Thank God you came back," I said as I stood up and walked oevr to him.

"I'll always come back," Elijah said, and he held out the jar to me. "Take it. It will work."

Hayley scrambled up and took the jar from me. "Eve and I will round up as many of our people as we can. Come full moon, we can finally free our family." She gestured between Elijah and I. "You two have something to talk about so come find me after."

I rolled my eyes at her attempt to be subtle as she and Jackson turned around and walked back to the bayou camp. I turned around to face Elijah again.

"So, you lied to me," He started. "You said you'd stay back at the house."

"I know, I lied," I claimed responsibility. "I'm sorry."

"Are you really?"

"No." I took a deep breath. "These people are my family, Elijah. And while I consider the Gilberts to be my family too, I couldn't ignore these people when they needed my help."

Elijah paused, before reaching up and cupping my face. My heart began beating rapidly as I felt a lump forming in my throat. He leaned forward and pressed a light, soft kiss on the spot in between my eyebrows. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the feeling I was getting at his lips being on my skin. I opened them up again when he pulled away.

"Juliet, I wonder if they have any idea how lucky they are to have you," He said.

I couldn't help the big smile that broke out on my face. "As lucky as I am to have you," the words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. I awkwardly cleared my throat as I began looking everywhere but Elijah. "So, I should get to Hayley. You know how impatient she can get..."

"Yes, you should," Elijah said as he removed his hands from my face.

I took a few steps back, keeping my eyes trained on him until I finally looked away and turned around, biting my lip to keep a smile from crossing my face.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Not much to say but thanks for reading!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	17. Farewell To Storyville

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Getting closer and closer to the finale! Let's do this!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"They're _what_?" I practically roared into the phone.

Marcel winced on the other side. "Celeste trapped them in Lafayette cemetery together."

"Why?!"

"She wants them to 'talk'," Marcel answered. "She thinks it'll be good for them. I don't know, she's a body jumping witch, she's crazy."

"Oh, who does she think she is, a family counselor?" I asked sarcastically. I drew in a breath. "Whatever, I'm going there to help."

"Juliet, you can't!" Marcel protested. "If Klaus or Elijah finds out that I let you go there, they'll kill me."

"Marcel, if I don't go there now, the bloodbath will have already started," I insisted. "Besides, who do you take me for?" I hung up before he could say anything else to talk me out of it.

* * *

I managed to sneak past Hayley and made my way to the cemetery where Marcel said the Original siblings were trapped. They were all standing in the middle of the cemetery, seemingly in the middle of a standoff. Klaus held a white stake in his hand, while Elijah held that guy Papa Tunde's blade.

** "**Rebekah!" Klaus roared.

"Walk away," Elijah warned his brother.

"Don't move!" Klaus ordered Rebekah.

"Leave us now," Elijah repeated to his sister.

"I can't. I'm stuck here. Elijah, he has the white oak stake!" Rebekah protested in fear and anger.

Klaus pointed the stake in her direction. "I brought it for you, sister."

"Get out of his sight. Your presence here only serves to anger him. Leave him to me now," Elijah continued.

Though she hesitated, Rebekah vamp sped away from where they were, although she couldn't have gotten far.

Elijah turned to Klaus. "I'm asking you, brother to brother- we end this nonsense now."

"You _would _side with that traitor," Klaus muttered.

"I am not choosing sides, but I will not allow you to hurt our sister," Elijah explained.

"We cannot leave this cemetery, Elijah. How long do you think you can defend her?" Klaus vamp sped away, but Elijah easily caught up with him and blocked his way.

"As long as it takes, by whatever means necessary," Elijah said.

That was when I stepped out of the shadows, pushing the gate open. "He's not the only one."

Klaus and Elijah both turned their heads in my direction, and both their faces dropped. "Juliet, leave this place right now and don't step into the boundary," Elijah instructed, holding his hand up as if he could literally push me out.

I held my chin high. "I'm not going anywhere. I will not let my baby be born into a family that's feuding, so..." I trailed off as I took a deep breath and stuck one foot inside the barrier the door. Well, I guess you could go in but not out. I stepped in quickly and shut the gate behind me before Klaus or Elijah could vamp speed over to me and push me out.

That didn't stop them from running over to me the second I was standing within the cemetery grounds. "What have you done?" Klaus questioned as he grabbed a hold of my shoulders.

"The right thing," I answered as I pushed his arms off of me. "I'm not going to let you kill Rebekah."

"Oh, and what?" Klaus asked. He gestured at Elijah and I. "You two think you're going to stop me?"

Elijah sighed. "You've been at this for hours. To what end? Niklaus, I know you, and I grew up fighting you. I can't be beaten, nor can I be persuaded. You cannot get past me."

"I could get past you. Although, it might have to be over your dead body. You did stab me with that blade, forcing me to endure hours of unspeakable pain. Perhaps I should direct my rage toward you," Klaus said, pointing the stake at Elijah.

"Wait, you stabbed Klaus using Papa Tunde's blade?" I asked Elijah.

"Oh, you haven't told Juliet of your indiscretions?" Klaus asked teasingly. "Such cowardice."

I rolled my eyes slightly. "I'm sure Elijah did it within good reason," I offered. "And don't change the subject. This isn't about Elijah's indiscretions, this is about yours."

"You should see yourself- the murderous expression, the self-righteous posturing," Elijah cut in. "You look like Father."

Klaus's expression turned stoney. "I'm not him. Rebekah's betrayal justifies my anger. His was that of a madman. You were never the recipient of his cruelty. None of you were- not Kol, not Finn, None of you! I think you've forgotten what he was truly like."

"No. I have not forgotten," Elijah assured him. "Niklaus, I understand your anger, but I implore you, be better than him. Do what he could not- demonstrate the grace of mercy, rather than this petty cruelty."

"You ask me to show mercy to one who has wronged me." Klaus shook his head. "You really don't know me at all, do you, brother?"

"Enough," A new voice said, and we all turned to see Rebekah walking over to us. "Whatever I have done wrong, my guilt is nothing compared to yours. You want revenge? Fine. But, before you have it, I will look you in the eye and tell you why it was your cruelty and your spite that led us to this."

"Go on, then. Speak your piece, and when you are finished, I will grant you the punishment you deserve, even if I have to go through Elijah to do so," Klaus said.

* * *

I was the one that suggested that we planned this like a trial. Klaus would be the judge, Elijah the defendant, Rebekah the one on trial, and I would be the jury. Klaus had seated himself on top of a tomb in order to give a better impression of being a judge.

"Let it begin. The trial of Rebekah Mikaelson," Klaus began.

"What a relief. His ego is in check," Rebekah muttered to us.

"Just speak your truth," Elijah encouraged her. "I'll make certain he behaves himself."

"You stand accused of betraying your own blood. How do you plead?" Klaus asked.

"I plead you to shut up and listen," Rebekah retorted.

"You summoned our father," Klaus went on. "You brought him to our home. What possible defense could you have?"

"I knew he was the only thing that you feared, and I wanted you to run," Rebekah explained.

"Because you hated me," Klaus deduced.

"Because you were _hateful_," Rebekah corrected. "You denied me the freedom to love."

"Oh, so that's your defence?" Klaus questioned. "You called Mikael- the Destroyer, the Hunter of Vampires- because I detained you from pursuing some dull suitors."

"You were cruel, and controlling, and manipulative," Rebekah listed off.

"I was trying to protect you! From imbeciles, and leeches. Not to mention your own poor judgment," Klaus insisted.

"You are such a hypocrite!" Rebekah blasted. "When you fell in love with Juliet, I didn't stand in your way. I didn't exactly encourage it either, but I didn't say anything because I saw the difference that she was making in you. Even after everything that you had done to me, I wanted you to be happy and if it was with that girl, so be it!" Rebekah finished, pointing at me.

Oh man, why drag me into this? I tried avoiding Klaus, but I felt his gaze on me, so I looked over at him. He was looking at me with an intense look on his face, and I couldn't help but feel guilty as I looked away from him.

"And what about the one that you loved enough to call friend?" Rebekah continued, tearing Klaus's gaze away from me. "Why did you forbid me to love Marcel?"

"Do not mention his name," Klaus thundered.

"What has happened to you? I remember the sweet boy who made me laugh and gave me gifts, who loved art and music. I wanted to be just like you," Rebekah scoffed. "How could you have fallen so far?"

"You say you despise Rebekah for her betrayal, and yet no one has stood by your side for so long, not even I myself," Elijah began. "Perhaps it's you that's forgotten. I remember the day that Father caught you whittling little chess pieces with his hunting knife. He beat you so mercilessly and for so long, I actually feared for your life."

Man, I thought that Grayson was pretty bad ass when he sent me to bed without dessert when I was younger. He had nothing on Mikael, which made me feel bad for Klaus.

"So, you would paint her as a loyal sister, but she betrayed me out of lust for Marcel," Klaus pointed out. "Perhaps that was why you did it- for love. Perhaps I might temper my rage if Rebekah will admit she was a victim of her own idiocy. That her great love, Marcel, used her to oust this family and to take my city."

"Marcel did not manipulate me," Rebekah insisted.

"You defend him, and yet you can't help but wonder, what if I'm right?" Klaus asked.

"We loved each other. It was your refusal to respect that that led to your ruin," Rebekah retorted.

"Then why didn't he chase after you when you fled New Orleans? Oh, yes! That's right. He was here stealing what I built!" Klaus thundered.

"You want me to renounce Marcel, to beg for your forgiveness? I won't. Marcel is not at fault. I called Mikael," Rebekah said.

"Rebekah, you must-" Elijah started.

Rebekah finally snapped. "I was the one who brought him to New Orleans because of your wickedness! I wanted love and happiness, and you denied me the freedom to have either. Yes, I hated and I was afraid of our father, but he was a lesser evil than you. My bastard brother who loomed over me, threatening me as you are now. I wanted rid of you, and given the choice, I'd do it again!"

I could see the fury building up on Klaus's face as Rebekah said her little speech and by the end of it, I could see his muscles poised to lunge for Rebekah. So what did I do?

I ran right in front of Rebekah and pushed her out of the way as Klaus charged her, screaming, "Klaus, no!"

As a result, Klaus had knocked me against a nearby tomb, and I hissed in pain as my back hit the rough surface. The horror on his face when he realized what he had done was evident, and he was about to get off of me when two hands grabbed him from behind by the shoulders, and he was roughly pulled off of me by Elijah and tossed to the side. Once I was out of Klaus's grip, I slid down to the ground and wrapped my arms around myself to where his death grip had had me, feeling the bruises that had already begun to form. Baby Gilbert, sensing that something was wrong, began kicking urgently, as if asking what was wrong.

"Control yourself, brother!" Elijah practically roared at Klaus as he turned to me. Elijah ran over to me and bent down to my level, cradling my face. "Are you all right, Juliet? Are you hurt?"

I shook my head as I spotted the stake that Klaus had been holding on the ground next to me. I quickly grabbed it and shoved it into Elijah's hands without a second thought. Elijah brushed my hair behind my ear one last time before he stood up to face his siblings.

"Sister, leave us," Elijah instructed Rebekah.

"I'm not going-" Rebekah began, but Elijah cut her off.

"-I said, leave us, please," Elijah insisted. We both watched her leave before he turned to face Klaus. "You wouldn't listen to her. So, now, you must deal with me."

"So what's it gonna be? You hold both weapons," Klaus gestured to the weapons. "Tunde's blade would put me down, but the stake could finish me off for good."

"Well- unlike you, brother- I have no taste for fratricide." Elijah held up the stake. "I only hold this to keep it from you." He held up Papa Tunde's blade. "This is just my insurance."

"Why must you defend her?" Klaus questioned. "Rebekah betrayed you, as well, when she brought Mikael here."

"Because she is our sister, and because I like to remember her the way that she was before we became what we became," Elijah explained. "She was an innocent girl, quick to laugh, full of life."

"My memories serve to make her betrayal more painful," Klaus retorted.

"Can you not then accept some small part of the blame? After all, Niklaus, it was your cruelty that led her to do what she did," Elijah pointed out.

"Do you not see, Elijah? She didn't mean to _chase me off_. She wanted me _dead_," Klaus reiterated.

"You're wrong," Elijah said.

"She has always hated me. You know that's true," Klaus insisted.

Elijah shook his head. "You have no idea, do you? You have no idea what she was prepared to do for you. When our sister sees something that she perceives to be an injustice, she can be stubborn, impetuous, and, at times, downright dangerous. And never was this more apparent than the night she tried to kill our father."

"Rebekah tried to kill Mikael?" I asked in disbelief.

Elijah nodded his head in answer. "Yes, she tried to kill our father for our brother."

"What is this, some melodramatic fiction designed to garner my sympathy?" Klaus asked.

"It is the truth. I was there. And she would have done it, all to protect you, had I not stopped her. I often wished that I could revisit that moment, complete the task myself," Elijah mused.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Klaus questioned as he turned away.

"Niklaus, sometimes our sister acts without thinking," Elijah began. "She's short of temper, she's quick to fall in love, but she loves you. But, your malicious treatment has broken her heart. So, yes, she responded by summoning our father. Yes, that was a mistake. I'm not entirely sure that I can blame her."

Klaus was silent for a second before he turned around and said, "I can." Without another word, he vamp sped away, Elijah closely on his heels.

"Damn it!" I cursed as I ran after them using my stupid human speed.

By the time I had gotten there, I saw Klaus shoving Papa Tunde's blade into Elijah's chest. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out, ducking behind a large tombstone. It was better that Klaus didn't know I was there in case I could use it against him, but my heart broke seeing Elijah in so much pain and slipping down to the ground.

"There," Klaus said as Elijah collapsed onto the ground. "Now you know how it feels."

"That was supposed to be my line," Rebekah's voice said as she came out of her hiding spot. She held up the white stake from before. "Now, I have this. So I decide who lives and who dies." She held it out in front of her threateningly. "I'm taking out that blade."

"You'll have to kill me first, and now you hold the means to do so," Klaus said, gesturing at the stake. "Why not finish what you started a century ago?"

"I did not want you dead. I wanted you to run," Rebekah insisted.

"Liar!" Klaus roared, and I winced. "You wanted revenge."

"You drove me to betray you, and now you want to twist it and make it worse so you can justify killing me instead of accepting your own fault?" Rebekah questioned. "All I did was love your friend! You could've been happy for us, but instead, in your paranoia, you feared losing us both. And, because of that, you did. There is no one else to blame, Nik. Only you."

"Where is Marcel now, hmm? I thought he loved you, and yet he left you trapped in here with me." Klaus shook his head in wonder. "You against me. It's hardly a fair fight, is it? I mean, perhaps, if Marcel were here, you'd stand a chance, but I expect he's already found another girl. No doubt younger and prettier."

"You take joy in other people's pain, and then you wonder why I hate you," Rebekah spat.

"Yes, and that hatred led you to do what you did. Admit the truth. Admit you wanted me dead," Klaus demanded as he began walking towards Rebekah, forcing her to retreat.

"I wanted you to run, that is all- despite your delusions," Rebekah insisted.

"Elijah lies suffering, and I will allow you to help him," Klaus said. "All you have to do is admit it."

"You're insane," Rebekah said.

"Yes!" Klaus shouted. "Yes! I am a vicious, heartless monster, and so you summoned Mikael to kill me. Admit it."

"It's not true," Rebekah said, but her resolve was wavering.

"You know what you did. Admit it," Klaus demanded, beginning to back her into a corner.

"I didn't," Rebekah's voice weakened.

"You wanted me dead! Admit it!" Klaus demanded.

Rebekah finally broke. "Maybe I did."

The hurt that crossed Klaus's face immediately afterwards made me want to run over to him and hug him, and I was actually about to go do it when Klaus grabbed the white stake from Rebekah's clutches and stabbed her in the chest with it. She gasped in surprise as she dropped down to the ground.

"Klaus, no!" I shouted as I came out of the shadows. I had to be careful to step over Elijah's body as I stomped over to Klaus, who had a look of surprise on his face.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked.

"Long enough to see you stab both your siblings," I answered, crossing my arms. "What the hell is wrong with you? You keep saying how you want to do these things for your siblings own good, but all you're doing is pushing them farther away from you!"

"What would you know about it?" Klaus demanded. "It's not like your siblings have ever stabbed you in the back."

"Oh trust me, they have, but I don't retaliate like this," I told him. "Klaus, the whole reason I'm here is because I don't want Baby Gilbert to be born into a family like this."

"Baby _Mikaelson_," Klaus corrected.

I gave him a look of confusion. "'Baby _Mikaelson_'?" I repeated. "Do you really think this baby deserves to be named after _you_?" I held my arms up and gestured to the area around us. "Look where we are _standing_, Klaus! We're standing here because of how the Mikaelsons deal with their problems and with each other! The last thing that we need is for our baby daughter to be born into a family that is ready to go at each other's throats every time they get into a disagreement!"

I was very out of breath by the time I was done, and I stood there and caught my breath while Klaus just looked at me. "Well? Don't you have anything to say?" I asked. "What happened to all of your bravado?"

Klaus took a deep breath. "I know I have not been the best to you," He began. "When I should be taking care of you and our child, I've been running around, trying to get back what's rightfully mine. I wanted the child, and I wanted the city. I didn't want to lose either, but I guess in the process, I did."

I reached over and grabbed Klaus's hand, holding it up in front of us as I cradled it in between both of mine. "Listen to me loud and clear, Klaus Mikaelson. You and I are bound together by one thing." I brought Klaus's hand down to my stomach, spreading his hand open so that his palm was caressing the lump that was Baby Gilbert. "By this little thing that we created together. Whether I like it or not, and whether you like it or not, you and I are forever connected through our baby, so you can never lose me. I will always be a part of your life. I know Baby Gilbert is very important to you because she is your family, so why not treat Elijah and Rebekah the same way?" I took a small step closer to him. "In a messed up way, your siblings have loved you for a thousand years and I know you've loved them too. There's a saying: if you love something enough, let it go. If it was meant to be, it'll come back. Don't you agree with that?"

Klaus swallowed the lump in his throat that had begun forming when I started talking. He moved his hand from my stomach to my arm and tugged me towards him as he wrapped his arms tightly around me, trying to be mindful of the baby bump I was sporting. I hesitated for a second but awkwardly reached up and put my arms around his back, giving him a tight squeeze in response.

It was weird. I'd hugged Klaus before, back when I had gotten attacked and saved by Jackson at the clinic in the bayou, but this hug was different. The hug before was relief that I was okay but in this hug, I could feel the gratefulness that I was there for him, I could feel more care. My eyes fluttered closed, and I buried my face into the crook of Klaus's neck, pulling him closer to me. Even though I used to fear Klaus and what he was capable of, I felt...safe, somehow, in his arms.

After a few minutes, we pulled apart awkwardly. After barely interacting with each other and then sharing such an intimate moment, it was going to be awkward. I looked over at Elijah. "Can I undagger him?" I asked.

"Not yet," He answered as he bent down to Rebekah's level, grabbing the stake and pulling it out of her body with a sickening squishing sound. Then, he sat down on the ground, putting the stake next to him as he did so. I huffed a little as I took a seat next to him.

"Can I ask you something?" Klaus asked.

"Shoot," I answered.

"Why did you come here?" He asked. "In my rage, it was very clear that it would be a dangerous situation. Why did you come?"

I lifted a shoulder. "I guess I've been so preoccupied with helping my werewolf family and Hayley that I forgot that the Mikaelsons were my family too. When I heard that you guys had gotten yourselves into a mess, I felt fear. That one of you-be it Rebekah, Elijah, or yourself-would get killed, and, well, I couldn't afford to lose any more family members."

Klaus opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps alerted us to someone coming, and we both turned to see Rebekah walking over to us.

"You missed my heart," She told him.

"Perhaps I did," Klaus suggested. "Or, perhaps I never meant to kill you. Perhaps I just wanted you to feel a fraction of the fear I felt when Father came for me."

"Do you yourself know the truth?" Rebekah questioned.

"I know this: You accuse me of being evil, and yet you are the one who conspired to kill your own blood," Klaus said.

"You made our lives a living hell," Rebekah said tearfully. "You tormented us."

"I love my family," Klaus insisted. "You, Elijah. I loved all of you." He stood up and walked towards Rebekah, staring into her eyes. "I know I can be difficult, but I did not make myself this way. It was Mikael who ruined me."

"He ruined me, too. That's what you forget," Rebekah whispered quietly. "Centuries later, each of us is broken. You with your anger and paranoia, me with my fear of abandonment. And poor Elijah." She looked over to where their brother was. "He dedicates himself to everyone but himself. We are the strongest creatures in the world, and yet, we are damaged beyond repair. We live without hope, but we will never die. We are the definition of 'cursed.' Always and forever."

Rebekah put some distance between herself and Klaus as I stood up and went over to where Elijah was, who was still very much awake and in a lot of pain. I sat down behind him, lifted his head, and put it in my lap. I reached out and put my hands on his face, trying to comfort him. "Hey, it's okay," I whispered to him. "I'm here," I assured him.

"We're still trapped in here. Whatever you're going to do to me, do it now," Rebekah told Klaus.

"You said our father ruined us. And I can't help but wonder, what if his father ruined him?" Klaus wondered aloud.

A strong gust of wind blew the gate to the cemetery open, indicating the spell had been broken

"The barrier is down," Klaus said.

"I know you hate me, but what's done is done," Rebekah reminded him.

"What's done is never done," Klaus said. "It remains within us, a story we tell ourselves so we know who we are. Vicious father, a bastard son, and the sister who betrayed him. Perhaps it's time for a new story." He turned around to face his sister. "What is it you want, Rebekah?"

"Same things that I've wanted since I was a child," Rebekah started. "I want a home. I want a family. I want someone to love me, and I want to live."

"Then go," Klaus told her. "Go far away and never come back. We are far too damaged to remain together, less a family now than a volatile mix of ingredients. New Orleans will be mine. I will raise my child here in the city you took from me. No doubt, Elijah will choose to stay, but you? Sister, you are free."

The shock was clear on Rebekah's face, but she took one last look at Klaus before turning away from him and leaving the cemetery. Klaus watched as his little sister walked away from him.

"Klaus," I called out, upset over having to interrupt his moment with Rebekah. He turned around at my voice and saw that I was sitting with Elijah. "Can I undagger him now?"

Klaus nodded, before turning away from me and leaving the cemetery.

"Oh, boy," I muttered to myself as I turned to Elijah. "Uh, okay. Do you have any ideas how I should do this?"

Elijah couldn't speak around the pain, so I blew air out of my lips. "Okay, fine. I guess...should I just stick my hand in there and take it out?" I reached down and grabbed Elijah's hand. "Squeeze once for yes, twice for no."

Something that was barely like one squeeze from Elijah. I shuddered a bit at the thought but put my hand over his chest anyways. "On the count of three," I told him. "One...two...three!"

On three, I took a deep breath and stuck my hand into the opening in Elijah's chest. Elijah roared in pain, but I didn't let it hinder me as I searched for Papa Tunde's blade. My hands found the hilt, and I yanked it out in one fell swoop, resulting in another scream of pain from Elijah. I tossed the bloody blade to the side as I watched the wound close up on his body. He reached up and put his hand to where his wound was, feeling around the bloodstained material looking for an injury that wasn't there anymore. He sighed in relief as he laid his head back on to my lap, catching his breath.

"Thank you," He muttered.

"Any time," I answered as I wiped my blood covered hands on to my shirt. Whatever. I didn't like this shirt, anyways.

* * *

After making sure Elijah was okay, I made my way back to the bayou, where hopefully Hayley hadn't noticed I was missing.

"Where were you?!" She thundered when I got back.

Well, I _said_ hopefully.

"You've been missing all day, and you just show up like nothing's wrong?" She practically yelled.

"Listen, I don't need a lecture," I told her as I took a seat next to her at the bonfire.

I heard footsteps, and I looked up to see Rebekah approaching us.

"Thought I might find you two here," Rebekah said as she came up to us.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought Klaus gave you your freedom."

"He did. But I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you." She smiled. "Little Miss Juliet Gilbert. Even without your memories, you'd never let Nik hurt me. You are very brave, you know that? The way that you came in between the two of us so he wouldn't hurt me."

I returned her smile. "That's what family does. We stick up for each other."

Rebekah put out her arms for a hug, and I leaned forward to give her one. "Take care of yourself, okay?" I told her.

She nodded against my shoulder. "I will. And, listen," She pulled back so she was looking at me. " About Nik, he is a monster. Do not ever cross him. But, he does want more from life than to just be feared. He's too broken to find it himself, but I do believe there is hope for him in the baby that you carry. And speaking of your child- our family has no shortage of enemies. She will inherit all of them. Please, be careful."

I nodded. "I can't promise you that I will, seeing as I seem to get into trouble without even trying. But I promise that I'll try to keep myself safe." I punched her lightly on the shoulder. "And you better come back and visit me. Or at least keep in touch."

"Well, if I can't, you make sure to tell that little girl stories of her crazy Auntie Bex," Rebekah said, her eyes beginning to glisten with tears as she eyed my stomach. "And let her know, despite my absence, I do love her very much."

"I will," I promised her.

Rebekah turned to face Hayley. "I am leaving all responsibility for this one to _you_. I better not find out that she's gotten herself into such a huge mess of trouble that she can't get herself out of."

Hayley gave her a smile. "This one has been my priority since day one. I won't let anything happen to her."

Rebekah nodded at her as she turned to me. "I guess this is goodbye."

"More like goodbye for now," I corrected.

She gave me one last smile before she turned around and walked away. Somehow, I knew that wasn't the last I'd be seeing of Rebekah.

And I was glad for it.

**TBC...**

**Lotta interesting stuff happened this chapter!**

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	18. Moon Over Bourbon Street, part 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Super sorry for the late and short update!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Celeste's cure had worked like a charm. For the past month, my werewolf family had been enjoying life as humans again, rather than in wolf form. Hayley and I couldn't be happier. I know I considered the Gilberts my family, but it was really great to hear details of my birth family.

I already knew that my mother and Hayley's father were siblings and that was what made us cousins. My mother's name was Helena, which was also my middle name, apparently. I met a few of my cousins and my aunt (my mother and uncle had another sister who was still alive and had children of her own) who were very welcoming to me. I was surprised, considering I was only half werewolf. I was still half witch through my father.

My Labonair family/pack didn't know much about my father. Just his name: Michael. Anything about my witch family would only be known by the witches, who I absolutely refused to see. Not after their numerous attempts on my baby's life.

Speaking of Baby Gilbert, she was growing quite nicely. It was amazing how much my bump had grown in the month that I had been in the bayou. My stomach was now nice and round, and Baby Gilbert's been starting to kick a lot more, especially in the prescence of her soon to be werewolves second cousins.

I waddled over to where Hayley and Jackson were setting the table for dinner. I set down a stack of plates on to the table and began placing them correctly as Jackson and Hayley set the forks and knives.

"You gotta try Tucker's ribs," Jackson said to us.

"Then, what? Then we're gonna go play horseshoes?" Hayley joked.

"Hey! Don't mock country living, darlin'," Jackson teased.

"It's very different, I'll say that," I tossed in as I avoided bumping into a chair with my stomach. Baby Gilbert was becoming a hazard.

"Sorry. This is just a lot more family fun than I'm used to," Hayley shrugged. "I mean, it was tough learning to live with Juliet here, who is the Queen of Compassion."

"I enjoy what I do," I defended myself.

"Well, maybe I can help you get used to it," Jackson said suggestively, and I turned my face away from them to try and give them a bit of privacy.

"Then all we got to do is just forget that they spent half her life with humans, and the other half with vampires," Oliver, a werewolf who I watched wrestling before, said as he walked towards us.

"Ollie, back off," Jackson warned.

"It's okay. If the runt of the litter has got something to say, he should say it," Hayley jabbed.

Oliver rolled his eyes as he looked over to me. "You know, word from the Quarter is your boy Elijah's holding some kind of power summit. Guess who wasn't invited?"

The werewolves. "Who told you that?" I asked, turning on to defence mode.

"It doesn't matter," Oliver dismissed. "The point is is that we're stuck here living in the swamp, while your vampire boyfriend's deciding who gets what in the city. But, I guess that shows how much respect he's got for the werewolves, huh?"

There had to be a logical explanation for this. Elijah wouldn't just _ignore_ the werewolves, especially since he knew how much they meant to me. They were my _family_, for goodness sake.

I was going to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

I tracked down the meeting to St. Anne's church and pushed the doors of the church open as I strolled inside. "Are you telling me that the werewolves don't get a say in the way you're dividing up the city?!" I thundered as I walked in. "Also, did you really think that you'd get away with doing it without me finding out? Really, Elijah?"

Diego, one of Marcel's former lackies, stood up angrily. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"Oh, take a seat, Go, Diego, Go!" I spat at him. "I wasn't _talking_ to you."

"Diego, sit," Elijah agreed. He turned back to me. "We are not dividing the city. We're establishing boundaries-"

"'Boundries'?" I repeated in disbelief. "Do you really think boundaries are gonna do shit to help keep peace between the supernaturals and the humans? There is no way you're gonna have peace in New Orleans if you're excluding one forth of the population!" I held my chin up in the air. "I am a half werewolf, half witch hybrid. If half my people deserve a seat at the table, then so do the other half. If we don't get a seat, I can promise there'll be hell to pay."

"Wait, _you're_ the werewolf-witch hybrid?" a redheaded girl at the table piped up.

"Technically untriggered werewolf, but yeah, that's me," I confirmed. "And trust me, when I get angry, I get _angry_."

Everyone at the table began arguing again, and Elijah gave me a slight glare as he walked towards me. He grabbed my upper arm and practically dragged me out of the room as he let the leaders bicker.

"Do you have any idea what it took just to get those people in one room together?" He asked once we were in private.

"How would I?" I retorted. "No one told me this was going on! I had to hear about it from Oliver Twist!" I crossed my arms, a hard thing to do with Baby Gilbert. "Did you exclude the werewolves because of me?"

"I excluded them because they no longer reside in the French Quarter. My immediate concern is to end the mounting conflict here. Now, I can assure you once this treaty is solidified, it will expand to include your people," Elijah said.

"What am I supposed to tell them, Elijah?" I asked. "That once again, we're being ignored in favour of vampires? 'Cause let me tell you, that's not gonna go over well with them and you'll have a growing war on your hands."

I flinched when Elijah shouted, "I would prefer that you remove yourself from the process all together!"

I recovered from my flinch quickly and gave him a hard glare instead. Instantly, his face softened and his demeanor changed. "Juliet, are you absolutely certain that you shouldn't return to the compound?"

I scoffed. "What, so my baby and I can be ambushed? Baby Gilbert has never been safe there and never _will_ be."

"Is the Bayou any better?" Elijah challenged.

I didn't have an answer to that. But at least during the last month, I'd been happy. I'd been having fun. I didn't have to worry about vampires or witches trying to kill my baby. "The wolves want a voice," I repeated instead. "You know they _deserve_ one, so _give_ them one. It's the right thing to do, and you know it."

With that, I spun on my heel and walked out, my thoughts only on returning to the bayou.

* * *

**TBC...**

**I know, I know, super short, but I just wanted something up! Hopefully the next chapter will follow shortly! This will probably be the only time I do a two parter episode, btw.**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	19. Moon Over Bourbon Street, part 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Here's the rest of the episode!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Apparently Klaus encouraged Elijah to throw a party, and Elijah invited the werewolves to come. Since I was bugging for the werewolves to have a part in the city, I knew I had to go. So, I dressed in my best maternity dress, and us werewolves set off to the party.

Once I got to the party, I stood off to the side as I watched Hayley and Jackson dance together. Hayley had gotten over the whole weirdness of her being pre-engaged and now she was starting to like Jackson. Jackson was a really good guy too, and I was happy for her.

Unfortunately, that left me feeling a little sad. My hands rubbed my stomach where my baby was. "You'll never leave me, will you Baby G?" A light kick in response, and I smiled. "Good."

"Have you grown so desperate for companionship that you are speaking to our unborn child?" Klaus asked as he suddenly appeared next to me.

"Hey, the baby likes to hear the sound of her mother's voice," I defended myself. "Besides, Baby Gilbert is a better listener than anyone else here."

Klaus smirked. "Would you like to dance?" He asked.

"Dance?" I repeated. I made the slow dancing gesture. "Like this?"

Klaus nodded as he offered me his hand. "If you remember, we were excellent dance partners."

I debated it for a second before placing my hand in his outstretched one. "I don't seem to remember anything so that really doesn't affect me."

"Come on, nothing?" Klaus pressed as he led me to the dance floor and turned me around so that I could place my hand on his shoulder and so that he could place his other hand on my back. He pulled me closer, but there was a barrier because of Baby Gilbert. "We danced at your Homecoming, my family's ball, even your school prom."

"Prom?" I repeated as we swayed. "_You_ were my date to the prom?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" He asked as he swirled me. "You know, there _was_ a time where I was the only person that you felt safe with."

"Really?" I asked as Klaus pushed me out and then pulled me back in. "What changed?"

"You lost your memories," He started. "You think we've grown apart in priorities, but we're on the same side. We both want what's best for our child."

We had stopped dancing at some point, and we both just looked at each other. I had no idea what Klaus's _deal_ was. Most of the time he made himself look like a crazy monster, but then there were moments like this where he made it look like he genuinely _cared_. Like he really had feelings.

Before I could say anything, Klaus swirled me away from him, and I ended up in someone else's arms. I put my hands on their arms to steel myself, and I was surprised to see myself looking up into Elijah's eyes.

"Would you care to dance?" He blurted.

"Well, we're already in the position," I answered, and I moved back a little to put a little distance between the two of us. "You really did do a good job on the party. How did you get Klaus to come out and play?"

"Well, it seems that only a sizable soirée is enough to tear my brother away from his efforts at the easel," Elijah answered.

I looked over to where I was dancing with Klaus, but Klaus was nowhere to be seen. "He always looks so peaceful when he paints," I mused. "Like he's in some other world that no one else is allowed in." I felt my cheeks blush at what I had said, and I turned my face back to Elijah with a smile. "Looks like now that he's back in our world, he's gonna have to try and control himself."

"Well, truthfully, I'd be shocked if he _had_ even a shred of control. I do hope your daughter inherits her mother's..." He gave me a once over, making me feel a little self-conscious. "Everything."

I smiled as he spun me around. "It's kinda weird to be back here."

"Not unpleasant, I hope?" Elijah asked.

"Unpleasant? No," I answered. "Uncomfortable? That's a maybe."

"Are you entirely sure you shouldn't be here with us?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Elijah, being in the werewolf country is honestly less dangerous than being caught in a vampire power struggle. Besides, I've never felt at home at the compound. The werewolves are more of a family than the Mikaelsons will ever be."

With that, I let go of Elijah's hands and turned around, walking off the dance floor. Just as I reached the refreshments table, I bumped into a body. "Sorry," I muttered to them.

"Juliet?" I heard a familiar voice, and my stomach dropped when I recognized it.

"_Davina_?" I asked when I turned and took in the girl fully. She had been _dead_ last time I checked! I reached forward and pulled her into a huge hug, which she returned with just as much enthusiasm. "What happened? How are you even alive?" I asked as I pulled back.

"Once Celeste died, it brought me back," She answered.

"But Celeste died a while ago," I said, confused. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"The witches have been keeping me reigned in," She told me. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize," I waved away, leaning in to give her another hug. "I'm just glad you're back."

We lightly chatted for a little while longer (I was disheartened to hear that Davina's magic hadn't returned when she came back to life, but I told her to keep her chin up) when I heard a crash, and Davina and I looked over to see Diego picking up Oliver and throwing him across the courtyard, where he crashed onto a table covered in glasses of champagne that broke when he fell on them. Elijah suddenly appeared out of nowhere and picked up Oliver, pinning him against the table. "This ends now. I won't ask again."

"Oh, we'll end it all right," Jackson muttered.

"Jackson, no!" I called out as I saw him pin Diego to the wall, a stake aimed at his heart. I turned to Davina, putting a hand on her arm and pushing her back a little. "Stay back and stay out of trouble," I told her before I ran over to where the commotion was happening. "Hello! Out of the way! Pregnant lady coming through!"

"What's stopping you?" I asked the two of them when I got to the front. "Kill him. Go ahead, do it. It's not like he doesn't deserve to die. It _was _Oliver who gave Rebekah over to the witches so they could torture her. Then again, it _was_ Diego who led a werewolf massacre last month. And then, the witches cursed the wolves, while the humans stood back and watched it all happen like a cheesy supernatural movie. So if you really think about it, everyone here deserves to be dead."

"Are approaching a point?" Elijah asked as he narrowed his eyes at me.

I rolled my eyes. "I was _getting_ there. My point is if we can't learn to make a community together and _not_ be at each other's throats every second of the day, then what's the point? Just kill each other and let it be _done_."

To my surprise, Elijah let Oliver go, and Jackson let Diego go. I breathed a sigh of relief and massaged the back of my neck as the crowd began to disperse.

Then, it came time to sign the treaty. Elijah signed for the Originals, Diego signed for the vampires, and Genevieve signed for the witches. They each cut their palms and let their blood fall into the inkwell to use as ink to sign the treaty. When Elijah turned to me to cut my hand for the werewolves, I shook my head. "I'm not signing that," I told him.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What happened to your whole speech on peace?"

"Oh, I _do_ intend on following the terms of the treaty, but I'm not gonna be the one to sign it, because I do not represent the werewolves," I answered. "I maybe speak for them sometimes, but I don't have the right to do that." I turned around, grabbed Hayley (who had been standing behind me with Jackson) and pulled her forward. "Hayley does."

"What?" Hayley and Elijah said at the same time.

I turned to Hayley. "Hayley, I'm not even really a werewolf-I'm untriggered. I'm also part witch, I couldn't represent the wolves as wholly as you could. Besides, you're technically the oldest Labonair, and I trust your judgement. You're the person who deserves to sign this treaty, not me."

With a newfound sense of pride, Hayley held her chin up high as she took the knife that Elijah was holding and cut the palm of her hand and let the blood drip into the inkwell. Then, they each signed the treaty, promising to bring a new sense of peace to New Orleans.

Unfortunately, I felt all it was going to bring was disaster.

* * *

Hayley was the werewolf of honour that night at the Bayou. She sat at the very head of the long banquet table where we ate dinner, and everyone who was crowded around her had huge smiles on their faces. I hung back, instead choosing to watch from the shadows. This was Hayley's moment, and she deserved it.

"Hey! To Hayley!" Jackson said as he held up his drink.

"To Hayley!" I chorused with the rest of our family as I held up my own cup. I felt a little kick in my stomach, and I smiled as I looked down at Baby Gilbert. "Are you proud of Aunt Hayley?" I looked back up to my cousin, who had the brightest smile I had ever seen on her face. "Me too."

* * *

**TBC...**

**So we got a little Klaus and Juliet this chapter! **

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	20. The Big Uneasy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **We're so close to the end of season 1!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Wails from a bedroom woke me up, and I shook the sleepiness from me as I swung my legs over the bed. "I got it," I informed the person in the bed next to me, who drifted back to sleep._

_ I slipped on my bunny slippers and practically dragged my feet across the floor to get to the room. I was still blinking the sleep out of my eyes when I got to the room, flicking the light on. The light turning on made the cries more shaky and restful, but they calmed as I walked over to the crib._

_ My beautiful baby girl looked up at me with her big blue eyes and immediately the sobs ceased. She began cooing as I reached into the crib and picked her up, cradling her head to my chest as I rocked her softly from side to side. "What's wrong, baby?" I asked as I softly kissed her blonde baby hairs. "Did you just want Mommy?"_

_ Amused cooing from my baby. I smiled as I held her up in front of me, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Mommy loves you, you know."_

_ "Daddy loves you too," I heard, and I looked over my shoulder to the doorway, and I smiled when I saw who it was._

_ Klaus wandered over to the two of us. He put his arms around us and hugged the two of us to his chest. He pressed a kiss to our baby's head, then he pressed a kiss to mine. "Look at us," He mused. "One big happy family."_

* * *

I awoke with a gasp, flinging myself so that I was sitting up. Kicks immediately started coming from Baby Gilbert (who was still in my stomach, thankfully), asking me if I was okay. I rubbed my near-full grown stomach, letting her know that I was okay.

I pushed my covers off of me and decided that that was enough sleep for this morning. As I got myself ready for the day, my mind kept drifting back to my dream. Klaus and I were living in the same house. We were sleeping in the same _bed_. We were raising our daughter together (which was weird because I hadn't stepped foot in the compound for nearly two months).

Deciding that I needed to take my mind off of my dream, I set out for Eve's I got there, she and Hayley were having tea. Hayley enthusiastically patted the seat on the swing she was sitting on. "Come sit! I wanna see my niece!"

I smiled as I waddled over to her. Two more months had passed since the night that the supernaturals and the humans had signed the peace treaty, and so far, nothing had gone wrong. Of course, I spent the entire two months in the bayou, but Hayley told me that things were going smoothly. She was still really grateful to me for letting her be the representative for the werewolf faction. She kept telling me that I deserved this position and that I was a better leader than her, but really, Hayley was strong and badass on her own. Plus, I had a baby to birth and raise, I didn't have the time to make sure a bunch of crazy supernaturals played nice and stayed in their own lanes.

Hayley eagerly placed her hands on my stomach and began waiting for Baby Gilbert to kick. As I let her, I looked around me and noticed that there was at least three times more werewolves in the bayou than normal, and they all kept looking over at me. "What's with all the werewolves?" I asked, then I looked over at Eve and Hayley. "I mean, the extra werewolves. Why are they all looking at me all creepily?"

"They've come from all over. All the packs," Eve answered.

"Why? To see a baby that's not even born yet?" I asked, but before Eve could answer, Oliver came out of the house.

"Forget the baby," He dismissed. "These freaks, they've come here to see you and Hayley. You know, given the place both your parents' held in pack hierarchy, maybe they think you're gonna be the long-lost werewolf messiah or something."

"Great. No pressure or anything," Hayley muttered sarcastically.

"If it makes you feel any better, they'll all be looking to you because you're older than I am and your parents are ranked higher than mine," I offered.

"How was that supposed to make me feel better?"

"It wasn't. But it sure made _me_ feel better."

* * *

Later that same afternoon, Elijah dropped by to speak to Jackson, Oliver, Hayley, and I. After the dream I had had about Klaus, I had felt a little uncomfortable around Elijah, but I ignored in it favour of what he was here for. He came to talk about this Witch's event that the witches of the Quarter wanted to hold in order to honour the Harvest girls.

"Your people are uniquely poised to set an example for the rest of the French Quarter. Which is why it's important for the wolves to attend," Elijah finished.

"Thanks, but no thanks?" Hayley offered.

Oliver sighed. "Let's hear the man out."

"The witches are the ones that cursed your pack. And they've been nothing but crap to Juliet since we first came to town," Hayley reasoned. She turned back to Elijah, her hands on her hips. "No. We're not going."

"It's a new day in the Quarter, Hayley," Jackson tried. "I agree with Oliver. If we're gonna coexist, we have to play ball. We'll send a representative with a gift."

Hayley looked at him in disbelief, but she finally looked over at me, waiting to hear my opinion. I sighed before I opened my mouth. "I hate the witches just as much as you do, Hayley, but Jackson's right. We can't coexist if we don't try. Besides, I'm half witch, too. Those people are my people, and it'd look bad on my part if I didn't go. Also, Davina's a Harvest witch, and I know she'd want me to be there."

Hayley frowned but relented. "Fine. We'll go."

I turned around and started making my way back to the place that I was staying at when Elijah caught up to me. He suddenly grabbed my upper arm and brought me against his chest. He lowered his mouth next to my ear, making me shiver a little as he whispered, "That was too easy. Don't trust him. Don't trust any of them." before he vamp sped out of the bayou.

What the hell? I looked around me for any sight of Elijah, but he was gone. Why shouldn't I trust the wolves? Wasn't Elijah the one going on and on about peace? If the wolves were willing to try, what was the big deal?

I turned around to just go and confront Jackson and Oliver about it, but when I got back to the porch, they were in a heated argument which stopped as soon as I stepped in front of them. Immediately Elijah's words rang in my ears, but I composed myself before crossing my arms. "If you're talking shit about me, I would rather you do it to my face than behind my back."

Before either of them could say anything, Hayley stepped outside from inside of the house. She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the three of us. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Oliver grunted. He turned to look at me. "Why don't you take the hint and mind your own business, half-breed?"

Before I could curse him out (_half-breed? _This coming from a man who smelled like wet dog once every month!), Hayley grabbed him by the arm and spun him around, twisting his arm behind his back and pinning him up against the wall face-first. "First of all, don't talk to her like that," Hayley growled. "And second of all, she's still half werewolf and that still makes her part of our pack. Therefore, that makes it her business."

Way to go, Hayley! Stick up for your own!

"No need to get all riled up, Hayley," Jackson said to her.

"Hayley, let him go," I told her, agreeing with Jackson somewhat. She gave me a questioning look, but she did it. Before Oliver had a chance to recover, I looked at him and muttered, "_Phesmatos superous em animi_."

Immediately, Oliver began cowering in pain as I inflicted pain magically in his mind. He clutched the sides of his head as he dropped to his knees. "See what a half-breed can do?" I asked sarcastically as I stepped on to the porch, not breaking my concentration. "I've had it with the secrets and the lies from everyone that I'm supposed to trust. I've read all the pregnancy books and they've all said that the last month of pregnancy, all you experience are hormones and mood swings, so before I give you a nosebleed, tell me what's going on."

"You can go to hell," Oliver gasped.

I tilted my head to the side. "Wrong answer." I focused my attention even more, and he cowered again.

"Juliet, knock it off," Jackson insisted. "Oliver, you too. There's no reason to keep it from them."

"I can think of a reason. Tall and immortal and wears a pocket scarf," Oliver grunted as he tried to get up.

Without knowing what I was doing, I stuck my hand out and mimed grabbing Oliver by the neck, forcing him back down to the ground and keeping him there. He grunted in pain as blood began slowly trickling out of his nose.

"Juliet, really, you _are_ one of us," Jackson told me. "You deserve to know. Now, let him go."

Reluctantly, I released my hold on Oliver, who glared daggers at me as he stood up.

"Nice one," Hayley commented to me lightly as we both turned to face Jackson, crossing our arms expectantly at the same time.

"We made an alliance that's gonna change everything for the wolves," Jackson began.

"An alliance with who?" Hayley questioned.

Jackson hesitated before he said, "Klaus."

Hayley and I turned to give each other surprised looks, and I saw that her eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets, much as mine were. We both turned to face Jackson again. "Tell us everything," I demanded.

* * *

Jackson explained that he and Oliver made a deal with Klaus to get these things called moonlight rings that would allow the werewolf wearer to control when they turned (so they weren't forced to turn on the full moon and could turn when they wanted). It took a while, but we convinced Hayley that getting on board with the idea was in the best interest for our werewolf family, and in order to do that, we had to attend the festivities. Hayley wanted to go by herself, but I begged and insisted on going. I wanted to make sure this thing went off without a hitch, and I wanted to see Davina. The little witch and I had been getting closer since she was resurrected. We both felt betrayed by witches and had a lot in common. Plus, she was like a pixie in human form. She was adorable.

I got to pick the present to give to a Harvest witch, and I picked Davina, of course. The woman that was there tried to get me to give the present to another Harvest girl besides Davina, but after I gave her a menacing glare and growl, she backed right off.

"Wow, Mama Wolf's got claws," Davina commented as I walked over to her.

"You know it," I responded as I held out the present to her. "This is for you. I don't know if you're supposed to say something, but Happy _Fête des Bénêdictions_," I tried in my best French accent.

Davina giggled as she took the box from me. "Hey, that was really good!" She shook the box a little. "Can I open it now?"

"Sure, why not?" I answered, and I watched her eagerly tear the wrapping paper off. Since the element she represented was fire, I got her a red and gold flame necklace. She gasped when she saw it, pulling it out of the box. "Oh Juliet, it's beautiful!" She gushed.

I smiled. "I knew you'd like it. I picked it because it reminded me a lot of you. You've got a fire, Davina, and it takes a lot of courage to give the fire more fuel rather than to douse it like most people do."

She smiled as she reached forward and hugged me, trying her best to avoid my baby bump. I hugged her back, wondering if this was how it was gonna feel to hug Baby Gilbert when she was Davina's age.

Baby Gilbert kicked against my stomach, which Davina felt as she pulled away. "Wow, that was strong," She said as she pulled back. She gently put her hand on top of my stomach, patting the place that was Baby Gilbert's home. "She's just like her Mama."

Baby Gilbert kicked again, and Davina looked up at me giddily. "Hey, she kicked!"

"You bet she did," I smiled at her. "Baby Gilbert only kicks for people she likes. So, she must like you."

That brought another grin to Davina's face. "That's so cool!"

I looked behind me at the line that was starting to form because I had stopped in front of Davina. "Listen, I've got to keep moving, but I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded, and I gave her hand a squeeze as I walked away and more into the party. Hayley must have gone straight for the alcohol, so I had started looking for the bar when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. I turned to punch whatever pervert had done it but stopped myself when I saw that it was just Klaus. Instantly, my face flushed as I thought of my dream from last night.

"I hear you made quite an impression with the wolves," He commented as we walked through the party. "My arrangement with them was supposed to be a secret, and yet you forced it out of them. It's very bold. As was your decision to represent them here today, on your own. I trust you'll do nothing to harm our cause."

"A) I'm not on my own, I came with Hayley," I started. "And b) you're not really gonna go behind Elijah's back, are you?"

"Come on! What difference does it make to you as long as your people benefit?" Klaus asked.

I shook my head free of his thoughts. I stopped walking and turned to face him. I grabbed a hold of his tie and pulled him towards me so that we were practically nose to nose. "Listen, and listen good, Mikaelson. If I ever find out that you're playing some sort of twisted game that will hurt my family for your own personal gain, then-"

I couldn't help but trail off as I looked at Klaus. His face hadn't been this close to mine in a long time (Hell, I hadn't even _seen_ his face in two months) and the way his baby blue eyes (the same colour as our daughter in my dream) stared back into my own made me lose my train of thought.

Klaus pried my hands off of his tie, and I was so stunned that I let him. "You know, you've come a long way, little Gilbert. I knew you were tough, cunning, smart, but I never knew you were a queen." He shook his head. "The wrong person is leading the werewolf faction. That person should be _you_."

His words stirred something inside my brain, and I couldn't help but start taking small steps back, before I fully turned around, muttering, "I have to find Hayley," behind me as I ran away.

What the hell was _that_?

A large group of drummers marched into the party as I walked away, but I wanted to see what the commotion was about, so I fought my way to the front of the crowd, where I had found Hayley. "What's going on?" I asked.

"I don't know," She shrugged.

"Happy _Fête des Bénédictions_!" The lead drummer announced. "We have a message for all of you from Marcel Gerard."

"Marcel?" Hayley whispered to me in confusion.

All of a sudden, the drummers reached into their pockets and pulled out knives. They sliced their wrists open and let the blood drop to the floor. Immediately, the vampires in the room began getting antsy, fighting to control their urges and keeping their vampire face from coming out.

"Control yourselves! This is a vulgar trick!" Elijah demanded. He raised his voice to address the crowd. "We do not violate our agreement!"

The lights then went out and screams filled the air as the vampires gave into their cravings and began feeding on the drummers and other humans that were at the party, sending the crowd into utter chaos. I got knocked down to the ground in all the chaos, but at the last second I turned my body so that I'd fall on my side, and not on Baby Gilbert.

After a few minutes, the lights switched back on. I dizzily tried standing up. "Hey! - Elijah?" I called out.

"Juliet," He said, instantly running over to my side. "It's okay. It's all right," He assured me, grabbing one of my arms. I had a small trickle of blood running down my forehead but other than that I was fine. I felt another hand on my other arm, and I looked over to see Hayley helping me up.

There were dozens upon dozens of dead or injured human bodies littering the ground, all of them with gaping holes in the necks. "Oh my God," I breathed, blinking back my tears (damn hormones). "They're all dead."

"Hey, it's okay," Hayley soothed, wrapping her arm around me and hugging me to her side as I covered my mouth in horror. She looked over at Elijah. "You should go, I've got this," Hayley told him as she put her arm around me, keeping me upright.

Reluctantly, Elijah let go of my arm. "Your forehead is bleeding," He pointed out, rubbing his finger gently on the wound.

I winced a little, batting his hand away. "I'll be fine."

Hayley nodded. "I'll take care of it," She told him. She looked back down at me. "Let's just get you home."

Elijah, Hayley, I turned to leave, but we were stopped by the sight in front of us. On the walls, someone had written, "THERE WILL BE NO PEACE" in blood.

I was right. In the end, the peace treaty hadn't done anything. It was time to take matters into our own hands.

* * *

"I thought we could trust this treaty," I admitted later that night when we had gotten back to the bayou. I was sitting in front of a bonfire, with Jackson on one side of me and Hayley on the other. "I thought we could trust _each other_." I sat up a bit straighter and looked up at my two friends. "You know, my mother-I mean, my adoptive mother, Miranda-she always taught me that there was good in _everyone_. And even though while I grew up, everyone else lost that mindset, I kept it, because I thought that it was true. But after tonight...after seeing what the _vampires_ had done..." I bit my lip, trying to keep my emotions in control. "I can't be that person anymore _and _expect to live." I wrapped my arms around my large belly, holding my baby in the best way that I could. "I just want my baby to grow up in a place where she can be loved _and_ be safe, not a place where the weak are slaughtered by those who think themselves stronger. That is _not_ how I want her to grow up."

"It's survival of the fittest," Jackson explained. He came over and sat down next to me. "We need to protect ourselves. And we we need to protect _each other_."

"We need to use Klaus' help while he's still willing to give it," Hayley suggested as she sat down on the other side of me. "But, Jackson, from now on, you have to tell me-and Jules-everything. And no matter what, we do not trust Klaus." She looked over at me. "Do you understand, Jules? I mean, I know he's the father of your child and everything, but-"

"You can count on my allegiance," I said without hesitation as I stared into the fire. I finally tore my gaze away from it to look at my pack members. "If _this _is the city that Klaus gave up everything to reclaim, then he needs to learn that every decision one makes comes with consequences."

No matter what feelings for Klaus were starting to stir up, the safety of my people and Baby Gilbert came before all of that. I needed to stick to my guns.

I needed to do what was best for my family, even if it meant betraying Klaus in the process.

* * *

**TBC...**

**So close to Baby Gilbert's arrival! Who's excited?**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	21. An Unblinking Death

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Trying to finish this really soon!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"That's it," Eve coached, and I nodded along with her as I took deep breaths in and out. Eve, Hayley and my Aunt Jennifer were helping me with my breathing exercises that I'll have to do during labour. It was hard to believe it had already been almost nine months since I found out I was pregnant. Baby Gilbert would be here soon. "Inhale and release."

"Somehow I doubt I'm going to be as calm during the actual childbirth," I admitted after my last breathing exercise. Due to my enormous belly, Hayley had to help me into a sitting position. "Does this home style labour practice mean that I'm not hosting this showdown in a hospital? You know, the places with the doctors and the nurses and the medicine?"

"Honey, the werewolves have been having babies out here since before you were born. Stop worrying," Eve comforted me.

"One problem with that: I'm not a werewolf," I muttered.

"The werewolf gene is in your blood, so that makes you part werewolf," Hayley pointed out. She leaned forward a little. "Now, I know you, Juliet Gilbert. What's really bothering you?"

I huffed. I couldn't hide anything from this girl, could I? "I'm scared to death," I rushed out. "I mean, my own mother-_both_ my mothers-died before they could even teach me what to do to be a mother."

"Trust me, when the time comes, you'll know exactly what to do," Aunt Jennifer told me as she rubbed my shoulder. I had connected right away with Aunt Jennifer, missing a parental figure desperately. "I felt the exact same way when I was pregnant with Rick, and even with Kayla. It's just something that a soon to be mother feels. Besides, I know how you feel. I've been doing this alone too."

That was right. Aunt Jennifer's husband Uncle David had been killed by vampires when he had accidentally wandered into the French Quarter. Surprisingly, she didn't hate the vampires as much as I thought she would. Or at least, she was putting up with them for my sake since her great-niece would be half-vampire.

Hayley nodded in agreement. "Besides, it's not like you'll be doing it alone. You'll have me."

"I sure hope so," I huffed. "Klaus doesn't seem to be the type to change dirty diapers. I don't want to be in this alone, and if you weren't here, I probably would be."

"I somehow doubt that," Eve commented.

"Pardon the interruption," I heard, and I looked over to see Elijah standing at the doorway. "I wonder if I might have a quick word with the conspirators of a supposed uprising."

* * *

"You're making a grave mistake," Elijah shook his head as we tried to explain the situation.

"So, you're just worried about us. Is that it?" Oliver snorted.

"Look, Elijah. We know all about your brother's reputation, but if there is even a chance that these rings can help us take control of our curse-" Jackson started.

" -Our gift-" Oliver interrupted.

" -Then, honestly, we don't care what he's really after," Jackson went on as if Oliver hadn't said anything. "Won't have to."

"I see," Elijah nodded. "There are those in the Quarter who will consider this a great provocation."

"Apparently, most of them see us breathing the same way," Oliver barked.

Elijah turned to Hayley. "You signed a pledge, and you looked me in the eye as you did so."

"We don't want a fight, Elijah. We just want a better life," Hayley tried.

"Allegiance with my brother will guarantee you anything but that," Elijah explained.

"It's a risk we'll have to take," I finally spoke up.

A sound from outside alerted us to someone coming, and we all stepped outside to see a motorbike approaching.

"What the hell?" Jackson wondered as the man on the motorbike rode into the camp and came to a stop as we approached him.

"Which one of you is in charge?" the man on the bike asked.

"Who's asking?" Jackson asked defensively, immediately walking in front of Hayley, who in turn walked in front of me.

Elijah pushed me far away from the man and rushed forward, tackling him off of the bike just as it exploded. The blast was so strong that it blew everyone in the vicinity backwards.

I tried shaking the pain off as I shakily lifted my head off of the ground, trying to ignore the ringing in my ears and the pain in my joints. All around me people were injured or passed out.

"Juliet, are you okay?" I heard Oliver ask me, but I ignored him in favour of the war zone that had been made of my home. I picked myself up off of the ground as I rushed towards my family. I came across a little girl, who couldn't be more than four or five, who was standing next to a severely injured man. My heart instantly broke for her when I realized that that had to have been her father.

I bent down in front of the little girl. "Hey, it's okay, come here." I picked her up when she held out her arms to me, and I turned to see Jackson walking over to me. "Jack!" I called out, and I went over to him, holding the girl out. "Here, take her away from here."

Jackson nodded as he took the child from my arms and began walking away from the sight.

"Juliet!" I heard from behind me, and I turned around to see Elijah running over to me. He quickly assessed me to make sure Baby Gilbert and I were okay, and then we both knelt to the ground next to the injured man.

Elijah carefully lifted the shirt, and I nearly lost my breakfast at the sight and smell of the burned skin.

"Wolfsbane," Elijah deduced.

"It must have been in the gas tank, it's the only explanation," I deduced. I looked over to Elijah. "You're a vampire, you have the speed. I need you to take him and anyone else who can't walk on their own." Elijah shot me a look of concern, but I waved it away. "I'm okay, Elijah, I promise. These people need your help."

I ran over to Oliver and Eve, who were helping a girl who had a branch stuck in her thigh. Oliver was about it pull it out, but I stopped him before he could, putting my hands on top of his to stop him. "Oliver, don't!"

The werewolf girl screamed in pain. I reached over and grabbed Eve's hands, pressing them on the wound. "Keep pressure there," I instructed to her, then I turned to Oliver. "Shirt, now, don't ask questions."

Thankfully, Oliver listened, and I used the shirt to create a tourniquet. "Hey, it's okay," I told the girl when I noticed her lower lip trembling. "You're gonna be fine, just try not to move."

"How'd you learn how to do that?" Eve asked, impression clear in her tone.

I blushed a little. "My adoptive father was a doctor, and I was always a Daddy's girl. You learn a few things." I turned back to the girl. "This should help control the bleeding until the healing starts. I also know a spell, but I don't know if it'll work." I put my hands on the girl's leg and closed my eyes. "_Asinta Mulaf Hinto, Sho Bala._"

Instantly, the girl's face relaxed. "Thank you," She mumbled.

"I don't know how long that's gonna last for," I warned her as I stood up.

HAYLEY: You get a hell of an education when you leave home at thirteen. That should slow the bleeding, at least until the healing kicks in.

Oliver stood up and threw a nearby trash can in his anger, making me jump a little. "Vampires. They don't even have the guts to do their own dirty work themselves. I mean, why bother when you can just compel some poor son-of-a-bitch to do it for you? I say we hit them back! Hard."

I stopped him by using all my strength to throw him against a shack. Surprisingly it worked, since I wasn't really a physical person. "Oliver, stay here and help Hayley take care of everyone until I get back."

"Where the hell are you going?" He demanded.

"If vampires orchestrated this attack, I'm gonna go show them that they can't mess with werewolves," I reached down and grabbed a branch. Using magic to add more strength to my arms, I snapped the branch in half. "I think it's time Marcel and I had a little talk." I turned around to walk away but stopped in my tracks. "And if you tell Hayley that I left to go confront Marcel, I will use the other half of the stake on you, got it?"

Oliver nodded quickly, and I ran for my car. I performed a little locator spell to find Marcel, and then I called up Elijah.

"Juliet," He said as he answered.

"Listen, I gotta go do something, I'll be back soon," I told him. "If Hayley figures out I left, keep her back at the camp."

"Where are you?"

"I'm _fine_," I insisted. "If I have to be able to take care of a baby, I need to prove that I can take care of myself. Just look after the pack while I'm gone, please?"

I hung up before he could answer, trusting that my faith in Elijah wouldn't be proven wrong.

* * *

I barged into the vampires hideout, not caring if I made a lot of noise. Diego and a bunch of other vampires were there. Diego narrowed his eyes at me. "You done got some nerve coming up in here, mama," He spat.

In response, I simply lifted my hand and my magic lifted Diego into the air. I then thrust my hand out, and Diego ended up against the wall. I used my other hand to push the stake into Diego's chest, just missing his heart.

"My pack in the Bayou was attacked this morning," I informed him. "And since you're all not smart enough to plan a hit like that, I need you to tell me were Marcel is and we can all go home."

Diego struggled against the hold of my magic but that just made me concentrate my magic harder, keeping him firmly against the wall. "I'm not playing around here!" I growled. "There are _families_ out there. _Children_!"

As if I struck a cord, Diego sighed. "He used to keep a place. 1917 Patterson. If he's still around, he'll be there."

"Thank you," I said as I used my magic to yank the stake back out of his chest and let him drop to the ground before barreling out of there. I couldn't believe I had just done that! My entire time I'd been in New Orleans, people had always been looking after me-be it Hayley, Elijah, Rebekah, or even Klaus-and today was the first time I had ever truly done something myself. And it felt good.

Speaking of Klaus, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called him. He answered on the first ring. "Klaus, where are you?" I asked him.

"I'm in a bit of a situation here, love," He responded.

"Somebody sent a suicide bomber out to the Bayou today," I informed him.

"What?" Klaus asked, his voice rising with concern. "Where are you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, feeling a bit warm inside at his concern. "I'm in the city now, I _should_ be fine. I'm going after Marcel, I think he's the one behind the bombings. According to everyone around here, Marcel's hated the wolves since like...forever, and after what happened with the witches..." I trailed off before shaking my head. "Anyways, I tracked him down. Thought you might have a little fun helping me kick his ass."

Klaus said something to someone (he must not have been alone) but he turned back to the phone and said, "Hey, listen. I assure you, once I am finished here, you will have my undivided attention. In the meantime, please stay out of trouble."

I rolled my eyes, but if I didn't lie to Klaus, he'd be mad at me for going after Marcel alone. "Don't worry, Elijah is with me." I hung up before he could say anything else.

I found the place Diego had said, and I banged the door open using my magic. Marcel was already there, sitting down on a chair.

"Come on in," He said as he stood up. "Have a seat. I'd offer you a drink, but..." He gestured to Baby Gilbert.

"How thoughtful," I rolled my eyes, then looked around the apartment. "This place ain't half bad," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, it's just temporary," Marcel waved off. "Friend hooked me up. Believe it or not, I still got a few of those kicking around. I need friends to keep me informed, to warn me when someone is coming looking to blame me for things that I didn't do." He smiled at me. "For the record, you didn't have to work Diego like that. You and I are long overdue for a chat."

"I'm here," I crossed my arms. "Now, talk before I decide that you're not worth my time."

"Tough girl," Marcel nodded. "That wasn't you before, but you were forced to grow into it. You're a lot like your dad in that way."

My heartbeat picked up. My Dad? As in my biological father?

Marcel picked up my peaked interest. "Oh, yeah. I knew him. I knew your whole family. In fact, if you knew them like I did, you'd know just how many enemies they have. Back in the nineties, it was the Crescent wolves, along with the help of a few witches, who took over the city. Or, tried to. They lived to throw down, and they were good at it, too. They didn't care who they killed as long as they got more power."

"So the Crescent curse was your way of trying to stop them?" I shook my head. "How...pacifistic."

"It was either that or kill them all, and I'm not big on indiscriminate slaughter," Marcel answered. "See, I have this thing about kids."

I rolled my eyes. "I've heard."

Marcel smirked. "Oh, you did more than hear about it, Eumelia Christos.. You and your cousin, Hayley, are living proof."

"What?" I blurted. "How long have you known that about me?"

"I saw how interested you were in those Crescents. After your little family reunion out at the old plantation house, I started to put two and two together," Marcel responded. "Plus, the way Hayley was all over you was enough for me to figure out that she was the missing pack member that would have brought out your magic and werewolf gene."

"Answer me something, Marcel," I started. I clenched my fists together. "Did you kill my parents? Did you kill Hayley's parents?"

"There was in-fighting among the wolves. Your folks and Hayley's folks were laying low. Somebody turned on them. I honestly don't know who. I got there afterwards, found you in your crib and Hayley by your side. Even as a kid, she refused to leave your side."

My jaw was tight, and I wanted to believe what Marcel was saying, but this was _Marcel_. "Tell me why I should believe you," I finally said.

"Believe whatever you want, but you and Hayley were the last Labonairs, even if you were technically a Christos first. I mean, could've been a lot of leverage for our side, but instead, I took you two to Father Kieran. He thought it would be a good idea for the two of you to be adopted separately. The further away you were from each other, the better."

He pulled out a duffle bag and handed it out to me. I eyed it precariously before asking, "What's in there?"

"Money, mostly," He answered. "Stuff you need to start over someplace safe. Whatever happened in the Bayou, I'm not your guy. But, the way things are going? Eventually, I might have to be."

I scoffed. "What kind of plan is this? Get me out of town so that Klaus and Elijah will follow closely behind?"

"I can't say that wouldn't be a positive side effect," Marcel allowed.

"Then why don't _you_ leave?" I demanded. "Follow your own advice?"

"I was born here, Juliet," He reasoned.

I looked him dead in the eye as I said, "So was I. And as long as I'm here, I will continue to fight for those who don't have a voice."

I turned around, intending on a dramatic exit, but Marcel stopped me just as I got to the door.

"Guy on the bike? The bomber? Word is, he had a gambling problem. Owed money to the casinos-more importantly, to the humans who run them," Marcel relented. "And Juliet? When things get bad, remember, I tried to get you clear of it again."

* * *

When I got back to the bayou, Oliver was by a bonfire and surrounded by a lot of people. I walked over to where Elijah, Hayley, and Aunt Jennifer stood off to the side, gently cradling my belly as I did so.

"You stayed," I said to Elijah.

When Hayley heard my voice, she instantly pushed Elijah to the side and enveloped me into a hug. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Why would you go after Marcel by yourself?"

I groaned. "Oliver is so dead," I muttered.

"It wasn't Oliver who told me," Hayley answered as she pulled back. "It was Elijah."

I turned to said vampire. "What the hell, man? This chick is worse than my mom!"

Aunt Jennifer pulled me into a hug before Elijah could respond. Before I could insist that he respond, I picked up on what Oliver was saying, "Come morning, they will know that we are not cowards."

"What the hell is Oliver doing?" I asked.

"We are not afraid!" Oliver lectured.

"He's making a move for power in the wake of tragedy," Elijah explained. "He's not alone. There was another attack after you left."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. I looked over at the tears starting to build up in Hayley's and Aunt Jennifer's eyes, and my stomach dropped. "Who was it?"

Aunt Jennifer pulled Hayley into her side as tears began sliding down their faces. "Eve..." Aunt Jen said quietly.

I nearly fell over as the grief struck me. Eve was one of the first friends I made out in the bayou, who didn't care that I was half witch and an untriggered werewolf, or cared about the fact that I was pregnant with Klaus's kid. And now she was dead.

As if I couldn't believe it until saw it myself, I pushed past Aunt Jennifer and Hayley as I ran into the shack, where I saw Jackson sitting with Eve's dead body.

I fell down on to the ground next to Jackson, tears falling freely from my face. I reached over and grabbed Eve's hand as I pressed a kiss against the back of it, my tears staining her skin. "I'm so sorry," I sobbed. "This is all my fault."

Even though it wasn't really, I had to blame myself for Eve's death. If I hadn't have gotten pregnant, if I hadn't have come to New Orleans, if I hadn't have come to the bayou...

If the vampires hadn't have tried to strike against us...

I felt determination ripple through me as I laid Eve's hand against her stomach and stood up.

I _would _make sure that Eve's death wasn't in vain. I _would _make sure that her death would serve a purpose, fighting for what she died believing in.

Freedom for the werewolves and peace amongst New Orleans.

And if I had to do the one thing that I have been terrified of doing since I first heard of my true origins-take charge and become a leader, then I would do it, or die trying.

* * *

**TBC...**

**So as you can see (or as those who have also read Ripples of Reality can see), Juliet is forced to start to take on more leadership roles here than in Mystic Falls.**

**Hopefully finish season 1 soon!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	22. A Closer Walk With Thee

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note: **Three more chapters till the season 1 finale! Let's do this!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I don't understand why we have to go to this thing," Hayley grumbled to herself as she smoothed down her black dress.

I rolled my eyes. "Because it's Father Kieran's wake. From the one conversation I've had with the guy, I could tell he was a good person. Besides, you're the representative of the werewolf faction, so you _have _to go. I'm just tagging along because I want to pay my respects to the Father."

"Let's just get this over with," Hayley grumbled as she grabbed her little black clutch and walked out the door of our house in the bayou, me trailing behind her, trying not to let the huge belly I was now sporting (in about three weeks, Baby Gilbert would be here!) make me lose my balance and fall over.

Damn, I couldn't wait until this kid was out and I could push her around in a stroller instead of carrying her around in my stomach.

* * *

The wake was being held at Rousseau's, the place were Father Kieran's niece, Camille, worked. To my knowledge, I'd never met Camille, but I know she was a friend of Klaus's (I think?).

Hayley had gone to the bathroom, so I decided to look for Klaus and Elijah, and I had found them sitting at a table in the middle of the crowded restaurant. I perched myself right beside Klaus when I got there.

"I will warn you, Juliet, Niklaus is in a spectacularly foul mood today," Elijah began.

"Sod off," Klaus muttered to his brother.

"What's the deal with these moonlight rings?" I heard over my shoulder, and I looked behind me to see Hayley standing behind Klaus, her hands on her hips. "Oliver's trying to set a revolution every five seconds. People are scared, angry, and frankly, I'm tired of stalling."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "The Baby Bodyguard returns," he mumbled to himself before he turned to her. "It's a day of peace, Hayley. Try and enjoy it." He turned his head to me. "And, in the meantime, with all manner of unknown enemies conspiring against our family, Juliet'll move back in with us, with or without Hayley."

I rolled my eyes. "Listen, I'm not gonna be Rapunzel in your little story. If you haven't noticed, I've been coming more and more into my powers recently and I'm getting more and more capable of taking care of myself." I looked up to see Hayley, but she was gone. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I let my gaze begin to sweep the restaurant.

Klaus was building up with frustration, I could tell, but he just said, "The rings are in progress. I will live up to my word. We will find and punish whoever launched the attack on the Bayou, and you will return to the compound for your own safety! But, right now-" He grabbed the bottle of scotch in front of him. "-I'm gonna finish this bottle-" He opened said bottle. "and the next, in the hopes of drowning the demon who has chosen today to haunt me." He looked up at the ceiling and then chugged right from the bottle. "Cheers, Mikael. Impeccable, Freudian timing."

Elijah looked stunned. "Elaborate."

"Wait, Mikael," I said. "As in your Dad, Mikael?"

"Have you been dreaming about our father?" Elijah asked.

"Go ahead, have a good laugh," Klaus offered sarcastically.

"I can assure you there is no piece of this that I find even remotely amusing, Niklaus. Especially considering I've been dreaming of him, too," Elijah said.

"What?" Klaus and I both said at the same time. How trippy was it that Elijah and Klaus were both dreaming about their Dad?

"If you are also seeing him..." Elijah stopped mid word, and I followed his gaze to see Genevieve walking into the room. She smiled when she caught Elijah's eye. "Perhaps our elusive, unknown enemy is orchestrating a further attack?"

"Well, then. What better way to punctuate a day of peace than by killing someone?" Klaus asked.

I eventually just got up to go and find Hayley, when I bumped into her as soon as I stood up. Her eyes flickered over to Klaus and Elijah, and she grabbed my arm until she could pull us somewhere out of earshot.

"Do you know who Francesca Correa is?" She asked.

"I think she's a part of the human faction," I offered. "I think she's supposed to take it over now that Father Kieran's dead."

"Well, I think she had something to do with the bombing in the bayou."

"What? How?"

"Do you remember when you told me what had gone down with Marcel?" She asked, and I nodded. "Marcel had said that the humans ran the casinos and that he owed them big money, remember? And the new leader of the human faction is..."

"Francesca," I finished her thought, turning my head and seeing the woman from across the room. I looked back over at me. "Ready to kick some ass?"

She smirked. "Always."

* * *

When we got to Francesca's mansion, we waited on her front porch until Francesca got back. Hayley pushed me slightly behind her when Francesca and her bodyguard got home, but I didn't miss the groan that slipped past Francesca's lips as she caught sight of us. "Ah. Hayley, right? Oh, and Juliet, I suppose? I'm guessing you two aren't here because you want to make a new friend?"

"I don't count terrorists as friends," Hayley spat.

Francesca chuckled as she turned to her bodyguard. "Wow. I've been accused of everything from grand larceny to blackmail, but 'terrorist,' that's new!"

I rolled my eyes (I had been doing that a lot more recently, I've noticed). "A human blew himself up on a motorcycle in our home in the Bayou," I informed her.

"I heard," Francesca said offhandedly as she grabbed her keys and strolled up to her front door. "Awful. Goodnight!"

Hayley clearly had had enough, because she head butted Francesca's bodyguard before slamming his head into a birdbath and knocking him out. Francesca stared at her in shock, but then smiled fakely at her to cover it up.

"Word on the street is, he owed a hundred grand to the Palace Royale casino! And then, after he died, the debt was erased. Just like magic," Hayley reported the information we had found after we had done some digging.

Francesca relented a little. "Jeff was a fixture at my roulette table. Sometimes he was up, sometimes he was down. I absolved his family of the debt he owed out of the goodness of my heart."

Hayley and I shared looks that said that we both didn't believe her, which Francesca noticed. "Feel free to sniff around," She shrugged. "My hands are clean! And, I'd advise you to mind your manners. It's lucky you're still alive. You're the one the wolves all whisper about like royalty," She pointed at Hayley, then she pointed at me. "And you're the one that the witches are afraid of. If I was interested in hurting the wolves, you two would my target." She smiled like a cat who had eaten the canary. "And, when I go after someone? I don't miss." Francesca then walked into her house and shut the door behind her.

Hayley and I both sighed before we made our way off of her porch and to the street. "Well, that was a bust," She grumbled as she kicked at a rock.

"What did she mean I was the one that the witches feared?" I asked her. "I'm nothing special."

"Maybe it's Baby Gilbert," Hayley offered. "The witches have never liked her-or the idea of her."

I wanted to believe her, but I felt this weird chill around me as I tried to wrap my coat around me tighter. Something was wrong, I knew it.

* * *

My health seemed to have taken a turn for the worst when we got to the funeral procession for Father Kieran the next day.

New Orleans treated funerals differently than Mystic Falls did. In Mystic Falls, the family and friends of the deceased attended a funeral (in a church if they were religious, which most of the people we had attended the funerals of were) where some people would speak about the person who had died, we'd bury them, and then we would have a few refreshments.

In typical New Orleans fashion, they treated it like a party. We were all walking down the street to the sound of jazz music being played behind the priests acting as pallbearers for Father Kieran. Klaus, Elijah, Hayley, and I were near the end of the parade.

I coughed again, feeling my face beginning to flush more hotly than it had before. I couldn't remember the last time I had been sick (proper sick, not morning sickness) and it was starting to piss me off. I was getting frustrated over this stupid pregnancy (I loved Baby Gilbert, but not the process of having to actually _make_ her-do you know how many times a day I actually throw up? It shouldn't be called morning sickness if it doesn't happen only in the _morning_), over the bayou drama, and stupid Francesca Correa. I wanted nothing more than to just pack up and forget all about this city and return to the normalcy of Mystic Falls, where I could raise my baby in peace (well, according to Elena, Mystic Falls hadn't been peaceful for a couple of years but it had to be better than New Orleans) but as much as I wanted to, the people here needed my help, and were as much a part of my life as Mystic Falls was. As much as I wanted to go back, I'd feel like a foreigner there, especially after everything I'd been through.

"You alright? You look-" Elijah asked.

"A billion years pregnant and pissed off the world?" I finished as I crossed my arms.

Elijah offered me a smile. "I was going to say you look lovely."

That actually got a smile out of me, and I nodded my head at him in thanks for trying to make me feel better.

Hayley tapped me on the arm, and I looked over at her to see her pointing in the crowd. I followed her finger and saw that she was pointing at Francesca, who was obviously fake crying as she wiped fake tears off of her face with a tissue. "I cannot believe her."

"Neither can I," I said with a headshake. I looked from Francesca, and every single nerve in my body was telling me that there was something seriously wrong with her. I had felt the same feeling yesterday, but I chose to ignore it. But now it was getting harder to ignore. "Do you think Hayley and I were the target of those bombings?" I asked my friends.

"Of course you were the target! Were I to wage a war on the wolves, you two would be my first kill!" Klaus exclaimed. Hayley and I glared at him, but he kept going. "I would string you up, for all your worshipers to see."

"Inventive, but not original," I commented as we all kept walking.

"I believe that was my brother's way of telling you he'd like you to return home with us," Elijah explained. He nodded to his brother. "Perhaps try a different approach, Niklaus, with fewer references to murder?"

"As much as I would hate to throw you over my shoulder, and drag you kicking and screaming to the compound, we both know I will-" Klaus smiled. "- for the sake of my child."

"Look who's finally taking responsibility," I said. "Nine months into the pregnancy."

"I know, I can't believe it's so early, either," Klaus joked, and I found myself trying to suppress a smile as he threw his arm around me, pulling me into his side.

"So all it took was one nightmare to scare you into stepping up?" I wondered.

"Let me put this into perspective: my father lived to torment me," Klaus whispered in my ear. "It is not my intention to become him. This cycle of misery ends with my child."

"Now _that_-" I pointed at him. "Is original. But, you've seem to have forgotten one little thing in your attempt to show your case. She's not _your _child. She's _ours_."

And with that, I pulled myself out of Klaus's grip and grabbed Hayley's hand. "Come on, Hayley. Let's go find Camille and pay our respects."

"Cami!" I called out when I found her blonde hair.

Camille seemed surprised to see me waddling over. I nearly fell over when I got to her, and she had to grab me by my shoulders to keep me from falling over and righting me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks," I told her, and I felt a cough build up inside of me. I let it out before clearing my throat. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about Father Kieran. I only talked to him once, but he gave me some valuable advice. I'm sure he was a good man."

"Thank you," She smiled.

I turned to leave with Hayley, but Hayley stopped me by grabbing my arm and turning me back around to face Cami. "I'm sorry about the timing, Cami, but I was just wondering, if before Father Kieran died, he said anything weird about Francesca Correa? I think that she may have been involved in an attack in the Bayou. If you hear anything-"

"Look, Hayley? I'm trying- mostly failing- to stay out of all this stuff, but... she's a real bitch," Cami revealed to us. "So, yeah, if I hear anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks. And again, sorry about your uncle," Hayley said, and the both of us finally turned to leave.

I had started walking when I began coughing again, but this time it was a lot worse. I felt myself going dizzy, and I learned against a lightpost to try and calm myself down. I faintly heard Hayley's voice, but I blocked everything out when I pulled my hand away from my mouth to see it covered in blood. I began coughing more frantically. A hand rubbed my back, and I faintly heard Hayley say that she was going to go get Klaus and Elijah.

My balance weakened, and I fell to the sidewalk, careful not to land on Baby Gilbert. My coughing worsened as I felt my chest tightened and tears starting to stream down my face. The last thing I heard was Hayley calling out for me before all I saw was black.

* * *

When I woke up, I was laying down on a table in the middle of the compound. My hands immediately went to Baby Gilbert, and I calmed a little when I felt that she was still there. I carefully got off of the table as I looked around me. This place was...it _was_ the compound, but somehow it wasn't. The air around it was different...almost...cold, but _too_ cold.

"Klaus?" I called out as I looked up to the rooms of the compound. "Elijah? Hayley? Anyone?"

I turned around to try and find my way out of here, but I flinched when I saw a man standing a few feet away from me. The air around him was menacing, and I immediately took a few steps back, as if I knew to be scared of him. "Who the hell are you?" I tried to make my voice sound a lot more confident than I was.

The man smirked. "I suppose I'm family."

"Family?" I took a few more steps back. "What do you mean, family?"

The man ignored my questions as he walked more towards me. "I assume my reputation precedes me."

"I have to be dreaming," I looked around me. "This isn't real, this is a nightmare."

"On the contrary, my darling- this is very real," the man said, and he suddenly sped towards me (now I assumed he was vampire) and grabbed me in a headlock. I started struggling against him, reaching my hands back and clawing at whatever skin my fingernails could find.

"Welcome to my hell- stuck in an eternity of watching over that hideous creature my children call brother!" The main hissed, and it finally dawned on me.

The man that Klaus feared most in the world. The man who had destroyed his family. The man who was Baby Gilbert's grandfather.

Mikael.

But...but Mikael was _dead_. I said as much. "But you're dead! How can I be here?" I looked around me, and it hit me. Elena had explained to me something that was called "The Other Side", a purgatory where dead supernatural creatures went. And if Mikael was a dead supernatural creature, then that meant...

I thrashed around more in his grip. "NO!" I screamed. "The baby!"

"The baby?" Mikael scoffed as I let out another scream of terror. "That kid never had a chance! And as if your bloodline isn't filth enough, you poison it by merging it with Klaus'?" He laughed. "The deathless vermin, fancying himself a daddy?"

When he mentioned my bloodline, I remembered something: I wasn't just part werewolf. I was part witch.

I buried every ounce of magic into my final scream. It was enough to blow everything that was in a ten mile radius away from me, including Mikael. I dropped down to my knees as he went flying into the wall on the opposite side of the compound. I recovered slightly faster than he did, and I was on my feet and swirling around by the time he had stood up. I used my magic to grab a coat rack from beside me and launched it towards Mikael, who deftly dodged it. "We're not dead!" I exclaimed. "If we were dead, you wouldn't be trying to kill me! I'm not the one that's dead, Mikael, _you are_!" I roared. "Your son already beat you!"

"He is not my son!" Mikael bellowed, causing me to flinch a little. "He's a scourge, a walking symbol of weakness!"

I used my magic to break off a piece of the banister to the staircase and held it out in front of me as menacingly as possible. It was hard for someone like me to look menacing but it was worth a shot.

"There is no saving that atrocity festering in your womb," Mikael taunted. "Klaus will destroy it, one way or another. Better he dies now, and you along with it!"

Mikael suddenly jumped to the second floor balcony where I was, which caused me to shriek in surprise. I instinctively used my magic to push him back and he went flying to the wall behind him. I used that time to run down the stairs, but Mikael beat me to it, and he was suddenly standing in front of me. Mustering up all the bravery that I had in me to want to protect myself and Baby Gilbert, and I charged Mikael, stabbing him in the heart from behind him.

"Ahhh!" Mikael exclaimed in pain.

"My daughter has an advantage Klaus didn't," I growled as I twisted the stake around in Mikael's chest, enjoying the screams that got louder. "She will never, ever know you."

* * *

When my lungs could sense air around me, they gratefully gulped them in. My eyes shot open, and I sprang up as I pushed my body forwarded, heaving as I took some breaths in. It took me a second to realize that I was covered in blood, but I ignored it in favour of seeing Klaus beside me, bending down in front of me in concern.

Without thinking, I reached forward and wrapped my arms around Klaus, burying my face in his chest as I allowed myself to calm down and start feeling safe. After a few seconds of hesitation, Klaus wrapped his arms around me and hugged me to his chest, kissing my head gently.

"You're alright, love. You're alright," Klaus said softly as he ran his hand through my hair.

"I saw him," I breathed quietly into his chest. "He tried to kill me. He tried to kill _us_." I gently pulled away and looked at the other people in the room including Elijah, Hayley, and Genevieve. "I saw Mikael."

* * *

After I calmed down more, I went up to my old room in the compound (Hayley had gone to pick me up some food, since the Mikaelson men apparently didn't keep their fridge stocked). I hadn't seen it in _ages_. It looked exactly as it had when I left it-the bed was unmade, there were a few books strewn carelessly around the table, there was a maternity dress on the chair. The first thing that I did was clean the room up a little, since I always felt better when I had a task to focus on, but when I was finished, all that was left was to sit on my bed.

I was only sitting on my bed for a few minutes when I heard footsteps at my door, and I turned my head to see Klaus walking towards my room. I know that he knows that I saw him, but he still stopped and knocked on the door before he entered fully.

"You've proved quite resilient, Darling," Klaus smiled gently. "Fighters, both of you."

"Well, Baby Gilbert comes from a family of fighters and I guess I just took after her example," I offered. I cleared my throat before standing up and walking over to him. "Do you truly believe that the compound is the safest place for Baby Gilbert and I?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes."

"Do you _want_ me back at the compound?"

Klaus smiled. "Yes."

I nodded. "Then this where we'll be."

Klaus softened. "Well, I'm relieved to hear it."

"But Hayley gets to move in too," I immediately said. "And no ordering me around like I'm cattle."

Klaus nodded with a smile on his face. "All I ask is that the child is kept safe."

"You and me both," I breathed. "I also need some kind of insurance policy."

"Insurance policy?"

"You know, that I'll be okay after she's born, that you won't take her away from me, to name a couple."

Klaus was silent for a moment, then he offered me his hand. "Come with me, hmm?" When I eyed his hand warily, he softened his gaze. "Please. I want to show you something."

Finally, I rested my hand in his as he intertwined our fingers and began leading me to another room in the compound. What I saw completely drew my breath away.

It was a nursery.

It had everything. It had a crib, a bassinet, and an absolutely beautiful mobile hanging from the ceiling. I felt a smile starting to grow on my face as I let go of Klaus's hand to walk more into the room. There were little baby story books on the shelves as well as little toys like stuffed animals. There was a changing station, and the thing that every nursery needed was sitting beside the crib: a rocking chair.

I whirled around to face Klaus, my hands on my stomach. "You did all this for her?"

"I did it for _us_," Klaus corrected. "I did it for our family. Our daughter should be raised by her parents, in her family home."

My mind flashed back to the dream that I had had on the day of the bayou explosion of Klaus and I both smiling and laughing at Baby Gilbert. "You don't say," I muttered as I touched the crystals that were hanging from the mobile, and the sound of them brushing against each other made me smile.

"Juliet?"

"Hmm?" I nodded, looking over my shoulder as I let my hand rest on the edge of the crib.

"Uh, you said you saw my father?" He wondered.

"I don't understand why you call Mikael your father when he wasn't your real dad," I told him.

"He's done damage only a father could do," He simply answered, and I could feel my heart twinge a little for him. "What did he say to you?"

I thought back to Mikael's words, then took another look around at the amazing masterpiece that Klaus had made to show that he was finally, truly, all in when it came to Baby Gilbert. My gaze landed on Klaus's unsure one, and I gave him a warm smile as I shook my head, "Nothing that was true."

I walked over to him and took his hands in mine. "Thank you, Klaus. All this time I thought I was alone in this, in the sense that Baby Gilbert would only have one parent but..." I shook my head a little. "I can't believe I was so stupid to have thought that you weren't doing what you thought was best for her and I'm sorry about that. If you're willing, I'm willing to give this a shot."

Klaus smiled warmly as he lifted our joined hands to his lips. "A shot at even a shred of happiness is all I've ever wanted."

I guess it was the heat of the moment that made me do it, but I leaned over and pressed my lips gently against Klaus's cheek, pouring out all my gratefulness and hope into it. When I pulled back, he was fighting but losing to control the grin that was crossing his face. I gave his hand a squeeze, looked around Baby Gilbert's new nursery, and then walked out of the room, more sure of my future now than I was ever before.

* * *

I walked out onto my balcony, letting the fresh air hit my face. After my brush with death this afternoon, I had never been more grateful to be alive. My baby was due in a few weeks, Klaus and I had patched things up, and for once, I felt like my future was finally going in the direction that I had wanted it to.

I put my arms on the balcony railing and leaned against them as I watched the party to commemorate Father Kieran's life beginning to wind down. I wonder, in the crowd of people, how many were human? How many were blissfully unaware of the things that truly existed in the world? I didn't know if I wanted to pity them, or if I wanted to _be_ them. As happy as I was in the position I was in right now, I still longed for the days where I woke up every morning knowing exactly how my day was going to go, which was what a normal human did in their normal human life. Well, I guess I was never human or normal.

At first I thought that the way New Orleans held funerals was weird. All I wanted was tears (fake ones if you didn't know the person all that well) a few words spoken about how the person was, bury them and try to move on in life without thinking about that person and about how they weren't in your life anymore.

But the more I thought about it, I actually loved the way New Orleans held funerals. They didn't mourn the dead: they celebrated them. They remembered how they were in life and reminded people how and why we loved them, and that despite the person's death, life still goes on. And maybe, life could go on with a bit of hope that not all things would be bad.

I heard footsteps from behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Elijah. I smiled at him as I looked back over at the party that was dying down as I played with my fingers. "If I died and someone threw a party, I would be haunting their asses so bad." I chuckled a little. "Well, I guess with the disintegration with The Other Side and all, that won't be possible anymore."

"You almost did die," Elijah said, and I felt a chill run down my spine at the worried tone in his voice. I turned around to face him more as he continued talking. "In a thousand years, I can't recall a time I felt so... frightened."

"You didn't have to be frightened," I blurted, unsure of what to really say. "I can take care of myself, and I've really been starting to prove it nowadays."

"But I still was," Elijah retorted as he walked over to me so now he was standing in front of me. "If something had happened to you today..."

I instinctively reached out and took his hand, intertwining our fingers together and lifting it up in front of his face. "But it didn't. I'm right here, I'm right in front of you. You can feel me in your..."

My words trailed off after I finally understood the look in Elijah's eyes. I could see him swallow the knot that was forming in his throat, and I looked back up into his eyes.

Oh no, no way, the _last_ thing I needed right now was-

Before I could say anything, Elijah leaned over and captured my lips in his.

I froze up at first. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel-I'd admit, I'd fantasized about kissing Elijah in the past, but now that I had finally worked things out with Klaus, the last thing I needed was for more family tension to build up in the weeks before Baby Gilbert's birth when it was all supposed to be focused on _Baby Gilbert_.

But in the end, that didn't stop me from returning his kiss, stepping up on my tip toes to try and cover his mouth more with mine. His lips were soft and firm at the same time, and I could feel the passion that he'd been holding in for months begin to pour through my body as the passion that _I'd_ been ignoring for months poured into his. I could feel my heartbeat thumping hard against my chest as my hands grabbed the edges of his jacket, pulling him as close to me as I could manage with the baby bump. I felt Elijah's hands run through my hair, and I relished in the feeling of it.

Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't been with a man in _months_ (not even a friendly dinner date) or the fact that the feelings for Elijah that I had been bottling up inside of me was finally bursting open and fizzing everywhere, but I couldn't get enough of his kiss. Finally, when we _were_ done kissing, I felt a sudden _swoosh_ of air at my lips, and I opened my eyes to see that I was now clutching air, and that Elijah was gone.

I dropped my hands to my side and blinked stupidly before turning around to gaze down at the crowd, resting my elbows against the railing and running my fingers over my swollen lips over and over again. Despite the thoughts that were running through my head of "No, no, no", I couldn't help but smile a little.

Great. _Just _when I thought I finally had my life in order.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Poor Jules, just can't catch a break!**

**SO CLOSE TO THE FINALE! THERE'S A SURPRISE IN THE FINALE THAT I'M SURE A GROUP OF SHIPPERS WILL VERY MUCH ENJOY!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	23. The Battle of New Orleans

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Next chapter is the finale! Who's ready?

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Listen, you _promised_ that when the due date got closer, I would be allowed to come and take care of you," Elena said over the phone. "And honestly, things in Mystic Falls have been looking really bleak. The stupid Travelers are looking for Stefan and me, so we're at Caroline's Dad's old cabin."

"I remember that cabin," I commented lightly as I rocked in the chair in Baby Gilbert's nursery. Ever since I saw it, I'd been in love with it. So when I walked past it this morning, I decided to take a seat in the rocking chair and call up Elena. "Though it was better for sleepovers, not stake outs."

"Jules, don't try and change the subject," She scolded. "My niece is gonna be here in a couple of weeks and I want to be there to help you look after her."

"Elena, it's not the right time," I insisted. "Tensions are really high right now between the factions, ever since the bayou was attacked, and the last thing I need is for you to get caught in the crossfire. Besides, until you've dealt with the whole 'Traveler' thing you can't go anywhere."

She blew air out of her lips. "I guess you're right. But as soon as she's born, you call us and I'm coming to New Orleans, regardless of the Travelers."

I smiled. "Okay. Listen, I'll let you go, it sounds like you've got a lot on your plate."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later, Jules, and hopefully you'll be telling me that my little niece Kayla is here."

I laughed a little. "I am _not_ naming my daughter Kayla."

"Fine, fine," She agreed. "I love you, Jules."

I said the same back, and I had just hung up when Hayley ran into the room. "Jackson and Oliver haven't come back with the stones yet. They should be here by now."

"What?" I asked, and Hayley had to help me out of the chair as she led me out of the nursery and into the compound. I flinched a little when I saw Elijah at the bottom of the stairs on his phone, but I had to pull on my big girl pants as I walked down the stairs behind Hayley. Mine and Elijah's relationship status could wait for now. Jackson and Oliver could be in danger.

"It appears our wolves have gone astray, brother," I heard Elijah say, and it took everything in me to not turn around and run away when I figured out the person on the other line was Klaus.

"They should have been back hours ago," Hayley cut in.

"We need to find them," Elijah said, and his eyes flickered up to meet mine. It took everything in me not to look away and act like things were weird (because that was the last thing our focus had to be on) but I did it.

"Well, that might be a bit tricky. You see, we've located their car on a back road in the middle of nowhere. I suspect they've been shanghai'd," Klaus responded.

"And you didn't feel the need to share this information?" Elijah shot back.

"It was my intention to present you with a problem only after I had found an appropriate solution," Klaus defended.

"Do enlighten us," Elijah continued.

"I'm closing in on it as we speak," Klaus responded. "The only person who would be bold enough to snatch my wolf allies is the one who has the most to lose."

"Marcel," Elijah guessed

I felt my stomach drop. "No, he'll kill them!" I exclaimed.

"Genevieve assures me that Marcel has procured a cloaking spell. The only witch who will aid Marcel is Davina. I just need to get one last bit of leverage before I pay her a visit," Klaus informed us. "And there it is."

Klaus suddenly hang up. "No!" Hayley and I protested.

"Ugh, is he out of his damn mind?" Hayley grumbled.

"I am going to see to it that he isn't," Elijah informed us. "You girls stay here. Hayley, please look after Juliet. This late into the pregnancy, anything can happen."

"You got it, chief," Hayley nodded as she wrapped her arm around me.

I wanted to feel awkward around Elijah, but I was more worried. "Please be careful," I told him before he could leave.

"That is a promise," He assured me, and he vamp sped out.

Hayley turned around to face me and put her hands on her hips. "What happened?" She demanded.

"What do you mean?" I asked her innocently. "Nothing happened."

"Uh-huh," She nodded, clearly not believing me. She pointed to where Elijah had left. "That was not nothing." She stepped forward. "I'm not gonna ask again."

I huffed in defeat. "We...kind of...kissed."

"Oh my God!" Hayley breathed, grabbing my arms. "What happened?"

"Hayley, really?" I protested, pulling myself away from her. "We have bigger things to worry about!" Really, that was just my excuse to not talk about it.

"Worrying isn't going to help," A new voice said, and I looked behind me to see Genevieve walking in. "You should sit down, try to keep calm."

"What are you doing here?" Hayley demanded.

"Elijah sent me," She explained. "Said that you two needed extra protection."

I rolled my eyes. "What, are you gonna be a life coach now?"

"The treatment of pregnant women has advanced remarkably since I was a nurse, but even I know high blood pressure is bad for you, and your baby. Especially now, since you're so close to term," Genevieve said.

Hayley looked over at me. "She does make a good point," Hayley allowed.

I growled, but relented and sat down. "I just hate feeling so useless. It's how I used to feel when I didn't use my magic and I hated that people were bending over backwards to protect me."

Genevieve shook her head at me. "Don't you get it? You're the point of all this. Klaus and Elijah running all over town?" She sighed. "It's all for you. I'm a bit envious."

"Well, don't I feel lucky," I said sarcastically, crossing my arms over my stomach.

She tried to change the subject. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"How about a moonlight ring?" Hayley asked.

Genevieve chuckled. "The spell can't be performed until the full moon reaches its apex. And, of course, I need the stones, which will be here soon enough. Have a little faith!"

Not convinced, I stood up and walked away until I was out of earshot of Genevieve. Hayley was staying there to keep an eye on her, since she still wasn't totally convinced that we could trust her.

I dialled Elijah's number and spoke as soon as he answered, "What's going on?" I asked.

"Jackson is fine," He answered, and I sighed in relief. "He's...a little tied up right now. Can we call you back?"

"Oh, that doesn't bode well," I heard in the background, and I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"Elijah, was that Klaus?" I demanded.

Then I heard Jackson's angry voice, "Are you trying to kill us?"

My stomach dropped. "Hey, Elijah, tell me what's happening right now!"

There was no answer, only a loud explosion. I started shaking a little. "Klaus? Elijah?" I tried, but there was no response. "Oh my God," I breathed as I hung up. I turned around and ran back to where Hayley and Genevieve were. "There's been an accident in the warehouse."

"What happened?" Hayley asked.

"I don't know," I answered as I held up my phone. "All I heard was an explosion on the other line and no one is answering."

I headed to the study and began to pace to try and relax myself. Klaus and Elijah were vampires, they'd be fine, right? I don't know if the same could be said about Jack and Oliver. They were werewolves and had the healing abilities, but there were some things that werewolf healing couldn't fix.

"Don't stress yourself out," Hayley told me as she walked into the study and caught me pacing. "Remember what Genevieve said."

I laughed as I rubbed my face. "I have never listened to the words of a witch in the past and I'm not about to start now."

After what felt like an agonizing wait, I looked over at the door and Elijah, Klaus, and Jackson, looking dishevelled and covered in ash but still very much alive, returned home.

"I got it," Jackson said to Elijah, who let him go to let him stand on his own.

Hayley ran towards Jackson and wrapped him up into a hug. "Thank God you're alive!" She looked at Elijah over Jackson's shoulder ."Thank you," she said to him, and he nodded at her as she made Jackson sit down so she could attend his wounds.

In the meantime, I went over to Klaus and put my hands on his arms. "You're not hurt, are you?" I asked as I observed the blood that was on him.

"It's mostly dried," He informed me when he caught me looking for the source of the blood. "I'm fine, really."

I breathed in relief and finally looked over at Elijah. "You're okay too, right?"

He nodded, but he looked a bit stiff. Refraining myself from rolling my eyes, I walked over to him and wrapped him up in a hug. Jeez, men and their egos.

After I pulled away, Hayley spoke up. "What about the stones?" She asked.

"Scattered across the bed of the Mississippi, I'd imagine," Elijah muttered.

"Marcel's not a fool," Klaus remarked as he poured himself a drink. "He knows an empowered werewolf army would mean the end of vampires in New Orleans. The explosion is his way of saying he means to prevent that. For all the good it'll do him."

"Well, it did him pretty damn well, didn't it?" Hayley asked.

"This is my fault. I'll find a way to fix it," Jackson said, and he tried to stand up.

Hayley grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back down, rubbing his shoulder affectionately. "No, Jack, you're hurt. No one's blaming you," she told him.

"I'm blaming you!" Klaus threw in and when I sent him a glare, he sobered up a bit. "Those stones will be hard to replace. Fortunately, I always have a backup plan."

"Backup plan?" I repeated uneasily.

* * *

"_She's_ the backup plan?" I practically thundered when I caught sight of none other than Francesca Correa when we walked down the steps of the compound. "She's totally a gangster!"

"I see her more as a means of procuring rare items at short notice," Klaus substituted. He turned to Francesca and her entourage. "Greetings, Ms. Correa! I see you've brought company."

"These are my brothers. I always include them in delicate business matters," She sai,d and she turned to her brothers. "Fellas, meet Mr. Mikaelson."

Klaus smiled charmingly. "Please, call me Klaus. All my friends do."

"I don't know if I'd call us friends," Francesca said coolly as she reached into the briefcase her brother was holding and pulled out a small black drawstring bag. "But, if you and Marcel are planning on having a little throw-down, I'd prefer my family to be on the same side as the inevitable victor. "

"Then, you have what I asked for?" Klaus demanded.

Francesca held out the bag. "Not enough for an army at such short notice, but it's a start."

"Strange, I wasn't aware that she was familiar with our plan," Elijah cut in.

"My price for doing business is full disclosure. Your brother complied," Francesca filled in.

"And what does the Human Faction stand to benefit from all of this?" Elijah wondered.

"I only want us to solidify our allegiance to the ruling class. It's good for business," Francesca replied.

"If only everyone shared your capacity for reason," Klaus said as he examined the stones.

"Sadly, they don't. Marcel is being especially vindictive. I'm worried he might come after me, or my family, just for meeting with you," She took a deep breath. "It might be in our best interests if we combine our efforts."

"So be it! The more bodies we have to defend the compound, the better. Let's get started, shall we?" Klaus proclaimed.

* * *

"I still don't trust her," I muttered to Hayley as I watched her patch up Jackson.

"I don't either," She answered. "But if we want this plan to work, we have to work with her." She smiled as she finished. "There."

"Thank you," Jackson said, looking over at me.

I looked at him in confusion. "Why the hell are you thanking me?"

"Yeah," Hayley agreed, punching him in the arm. "I'm the one who just played nurse."

"No, I mean, I know Elijah only helped because you asked him to," Jackson said to me and I felt myself blush. "He really seems to care about you."

I sighed. "I hate this term, but it's complicated."

"I think that's the understatement of the year," Jackson said as he stood up. "Look, I gotta go get back to the Bayou before the moon rises."

Hayley gasped as she whirled around to face me. "Oh my God, Juliet, we forgot to make the potion!"

"Holy shit!" I cursed, covering my mouth. In all the chaos of today, I had completely forgotten to brew up the same concoction I had made for Hayley the night we first met the Crescent wolves, and the same concoction that I'd been making her since that would keep her from turning as long as she was connected to me.

"That means I need to go to the bayou, too," Hayley said sadly as she looked between me and Jackson. "I have to turn this time."

"I could go make the potion right now..." I offered weakly.

Hayley shook her head. "No, I don't want you doing anything that could potentially stress you out. I'll just turn this full moon, it's no big deal. Besides, after tonight, we'll never have to turn again," She looked behind her shoulder at Jackson. "No more pain, no more hiding in the bayou. I promise." She turned back to face me. "I just hate to leave you. We've been attached at the hip for the last nine months that it feels so weird leaving you for more than ten minutes."

I leaned forward and hugged her. "Stop making this dramatic and just get out of here. I'll be okay, I promise."

"What if the baby comes early?" Hayley questioned.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Trust me, this baby isn't coming for a few more weeks," I told her. "You'll still be there for the birth, I promise."

Hayley was still hesitant, but she had no choice. She gave me one final hug and started to the door with Jackson. Before they could leave, Jackson turned around last second. "You know, Klaus isn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart. He's doing it for you. Juliet, you're the one who's going to change everything for us."

I smiled at two of the most important people in my life. "I promise that after tonight, our lives will all change."

As Hayley and Jackson started leaving again, Eiljah walked in. "Seems I owe you yet again," Jackson said with a deep breath. Elijah nodded his head in thanks and with a final wave, Jackson and Hayley were gone.

"Where is Hayley going?" Elijah wondered. "I would have thought this close to the due date, she wouldn't leave your side even to go to the bathroom."

I sighed. "There's this drink that I make Hayley every month that binds her to me during the full moon that keeps her from changing. During the craziness of today, I forgot to make it for her. So, she's gonna turn tonight, and she thought she'd be better off in the bayou tonight."

."I'm sorry," He said. "I know how much you love her."

"She's the only person I'm fully sure I trust around here," I said. "I mean, not that I don't trust you guys, but you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," He nodded.

And here it was. The awkwardness that I was so afraid would creep its way into the silence if Elijah and I had ever kissed.

"Should we talk about that kiss or no?" I blurted, wanting this to be out in the open.

"Well, if you put it like that..." Elijah started as he looked a little embarrassed, almost as if he didn't expect himself to kiss me last night either.

My words came out in a rush. "It's not that I don't like you Elijah, I _do_-probably more than I should-but with everything going on with the werewolves and Marcel and the fact that I'm having a baby in a couple of weeks, I have had no control over anything and my mind's been absolutely everywhere and I just feel so trapped and confused and scared and-"

My words were cut off abruptly by Elijah slamming his lips on to mine. I kissed him back with the same fervor, snaking my arms around his neck and drinking in his kiss. It was the only thing that was familiar, and the only thing that I knew I needed-and wanted-right now.

When he pulled back, his finger was grazing my jawbone. "You sure know how to get a girl to shut up," I managed to joke.

Elijah smiled at my attempt. "As long as I am here, I will protect you. That is a promise."

"Yeah?" I wondered, and when he nodded, I reached over and fit my head in the crook of his neck, pressing myself against his chest and relishing in the feeling of his warm hug. I wrapped my arms around his middle and just let myself in that moment. The last good moment before everything went to hell.

* * *

I watched with Klaus, Hayley, and Elijah in the compound as Genevieve continued to cast the moonlight ring spell. She held out her hands and chanted, "_Tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse._"

All of a sudden, Francesca rushed in. "My people say Marcel is on the move, and he's bringing friends," She informed us.

"Get Juliet to safety," I heard Klaus say to Elijah before he vamp sped out of the compound.

Elijah walked over to me and grabbed my upper arm. "Come with me."

I pulled my arm away from him. "No, someone has to watch her," I told him, gesturing to Genevieve. "I'm a witch, I can hold my own."

"You should help Klaus," Francesca encouraged. "My brothers and their security detail won't be much against a vampire army. I'll stay with Juliet."

Though I didn't like the sound of that, I was forced to nod along. "Go, Elijah. And promise me that you won't hold back."

He was reluctant, but he nodded at me and left to go help his brother. I ran my hands up my arms and cupped the back of my neck as I turned around to face Genevieve.

Ten minutes later, one of the security guards made his way into the room where Genevieve was casting the spell. He made a gesture to Francesca, but she held up a hand. "Not yet," She said to him.

"Ms. Correa, we need to go," the security guard said. "Your brothers are already headed out the back."

"_Materi lunare tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse_," Genevieve continued. My phone rang and I was surprised to see that it was Cami, but I ignored it in favour of watching Genevieve.

"_Materi lunare tua virtuse. Materi lunare tua virtuse_," Genevieve chanted, and then she stopped. She picked up a stone and examined it. "The stones are finished," She said, pleased with herself. "I've done my part. Now, it's up to you."

"Great," I said as I walked over to the stones. "I'll take them out to the bayou."

However, Francesca managed to rush over to Genevieve before I could and held out her hand to the witch. "Actually, she was talking to me."

I looked between the two of them, feeling dread starting to build up in me. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded.

"Call it a side deal," Francesca said. "The point is, I'm taking the stones."

She started to walk away, but I followed her. "Are you out of your freaking _mind_?" I demanded. "You're calling on the wrath of Klaus and there is no way that the humans are gonna be able to go up against him. Is that what you really think?"

"No, I don't. But, I'm not human," Francesca said, and before I knew what was going on, she pulled out a knife and slit the throat of her bodyguard.

I screamed in shock, and when the bodyguard died, she doubled over in pain. When she looked back up at me, she had fangs and gold eyes. The signs of a... "Werewolf," I breathed, my tone quaking with fear.

Francesca grinned. "I'm like you, Juliet. Well, in a way. And now, I'm gonna take back my town!"

"Not on my watch!" I exclaimed, readying my hands to use a knock out spell. But before I could do anything, I suddenly felt the pull of unconsciousness, and I dropped down to the ground as I blacked out.

* * *

When I woke up, there were pulsing pains shooting in my abdomen. They came every so often, and from reading all the baby books Hayley had bought me, the pains only meant one thing: I was in labour.

A group of witches dragged me into St. Anne's church, no matter how much I kicked or struggled. I was also in unbearable pain, so my best probably wasn't my best. I couldn't believe this was happening! This was too early for her! She wasn't due for another two weeks!

Monique Deveraux and some other witch were waiting for me in the pews, and I immediately began shaking my head and screaming in fright, hoping, praying that someone would hear me.

"Get her down on the floor!" Genevieve demanded to the witches that were carrying me.

"We should take her to the City of the Dead," Monique suggested.

"We won't make it, the baby is coming now," Genevieve retorted.

"NO!" I shrieked as I felt tears starting to stream down my face. "It's too soon! It's too soon!" Another jolt of pain spread across my abdomen, and I screamed as loudly as my lungs would allow.

"Apparently not," Genevieve said.

Monique grabbed Genevieve by the arm. "The plan was to induce her when the sacrifice was ready!"

I felt myself being lowered down to the ground, and I struggled against the hold that the witches had on me.

"I had to subdue her, and the trauma caused a placental abruption. So, the baby is coming, and we'll just have to adapt," Genevieve explained.

"AHHH!" I screamed with all my might. "LET ME GO!"

"You need to be calm, Juliet," Genevieve instructed.

I shook my head at her as tears slipped down my flushed cheeks. "Why are you doing this to me? Please don't do this to me!"

"To be reborn, you must sacrifice," Monique said as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

I pushed her off of me the best I could. "What does that mean, you crazy ass _bitch_?!" I shrieked as I struggled.

"The ancestors-_your_ ancestors-demand an offering in exchange for power," Genevieve went on.

"You and your child will be a fine offering," Monique said. "Plus, we'd be killing _two_ abominations of nature. The ancestors will be pleased."

I had never been so scared in my entire life. Not for me, but for Baby Gilbert. She wasn't going to die. She _wasn't_. "NO!" I rejected. "I swear to God if any of you even so much as _look_ in my baby's direction, I will kill _all of you_!"

"No, you won't!" Monique said. "And neither will Klaus, or Elijah! When your baby is born, you will offer her up to those who came before us."

"Please, don't!" I whimpered as my breathing became laboured.

"I'm sorry, Juliet, but this is the way it had to be," Genevieve told me. "You're fulfilling your duties as a witch of New Orleans."

"She's just a baby..." I whispered as I laid my head on the ground. "She's just a baby," I said a little louder. Finally, I felt rage coursing through my veins as I sat up and began fighting again. "NO! NO!" I screamed over and over again, and I felt my magic starting to break free of my hold. I could hear the winds outside blowing harder and harder in response to the raw magic that was expelling off of me, so I let the feeling in, hoping that I could overpower the witches.

I was terrified out of my mind. These people wanted my baby. They wanted to _kill _my baby. All I wanted was to be safe, and there _was_ one person who said that they were the only person that I had ever felt safe with. So I started screaming for them.

"KLAUS!" I shrieked as loudly as I could. "KLAUS, _HELP ME_!" I yelled over and over again, and I just had to hope that Klaus would find me before the witches tried to kill our baby.

Before they tried to kill _our family_.

* * *

**TBC...**

**So intense! But so good!**

**Baby Gilbert arrives next chapter! Who's excited?**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	24. From a Cradle to a Grave

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** The finale! We have a little surprise cameo!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_I rocked slowly in the rocking chair in Baby Gilbert's nursery as I twirled the pen around in my fingers, thinking about what I wanted to get across to my baby in this letter._

"_Writing a love letter to one of your many suitors?_" _I heard, and I looked up to see Klaus leaning in the doorway of the nursery, causing me to smile. _"_So, who's the lucky recipient, then?_" _He smiled. "Jackson?"_

_ I shook my head. "Jackson and Hayley are kinda pre-engaged." I waved it away. "Werewolf ritual stuff. It's not important."_

_ "Fine," Klaus nodded. "Elijah?"_

_ That answer just made me roll my eyes. Klaus spoke again. "Don't tell me it's me?"_

_ For some reason, that made the both of us laugh. "I thought I was out of the running ages ago!" He commented._

_ "And if it _was_ you?" I wondered. "What would you say?"_

_ "I think I would say that I was surprised," he answered. "But I'm flattered."_

_ I put my pen to my lips as something struck me.. "You know something? I never asked you."_

_ "Asked me what?"_

_ "Your name suggestion," I filled in. "For Baby Gilbert."_

_ "You mean...I get to suggest a name?" He asked. _

_ I nodded. "Of course you get to suggest a name. She's your baby too."_

_ He smiled, before tilting his head to the side a little. "How about...Charlotte?"_

_ I leaned my head to the side a little as I thought of the name. "Charlotte..." I bit on the end of my pen. "That's really cute, actually. I like Charlotte. But no matter what her first name is, her middle name is gonna be Hayley."_

_ Klaus gave me a look. "You're making our daughter's middle name Hayley?"_

_ I nodded. "I already promised the godmother position to Caroline when we were in the first grade-Caroline would be my child's godmother, I would be Bonnie's, Elena would be Caroline's, and Bonnie would be Elena's-and this was the only other way I knew how to honour Hayley. Throughout this whole pregnancy, Hayley's always been the one there for me and I wanted to acknowledge that." Suddenly, I felt a kick in my stomach. "Oh," I groaned a little as I rubbed my stomach where Baby Gilbert had kicked. _

_ "How is our littlest wolf?" Klaus asked as he walked into the nursery._

_ I looked down at my stomach, then back up to Klaus. "Did you want to...?" I patted my stomach. _

_Klaus took a step back, looking a bit nervous. I rolled my eyes at him and gestured to my stomach. "You can't be serious. You felt it the first time she kicked, this might be one of the last times she kicks."_

_ Finally, Klaus wandered over to me and hesitantly reached out and touched my abdomen. I saw him jump a little when Baby Gilbert kicked, but he smiled._

_ "You feel that, yeah?" I asked him with a laugh. "That's what I feel all the time. Especially when I'm sleeping." I put my hands on top of Klaus's. "She _must_ be a creature of the night."_

_ All of sudden, Klaus pulled out his hands from under me. I was a little confused as he stood up and gestured to the papers that I had put beside me. "Right! I'll leave you to your secret letter, then!" He said as he quickly turned around and left the room._

_ I shook my head at him, but I returned to my letter, placing the paper and the book that I was writing on top of back in my lap. "Dear Aria (Mommy's suggestion), or Isabella (Uncle Elijah's suggestion), or Angela (Aunt Hayley's suggestion), or Charlotte (Daddy's suggestion), To my baby girl. Your dad just asked if this was a love letter. I guess it sort of is. I never knew my birth mother, and while my adoptive mother was great, I don't know what she must have thought when she carried me in her tummy. So, I thought I'd write you a letter (which, hopefully you're reading when you're a little older) so you can know how happy I am at this very moment. How much your father and I can't wait to meet you. And I'm gonna to promise you three things that I had had when I was growing up: a safe home, someone to tell you that they love you every single day, and someone to fight for you, no matter what. In other words, a family. So, there you go, baby girl. The rest, we're going to have to figure out together. I love you more than words can express. Your Mom."_

* * *

"AHHHH!" I shrieked as I tried wrestling myself away from the witch that was trying to hold me down on to the table. "Let me go, you bitch!"

The witches held me down despite all the struggling I was doing. All of the sudden, the doors to the church were thrown open, and my heart rose when I saw Klaus standing there. He was beaten and bloody, but he was still there. He had come for me. "Klaus," I breathed.

Klaus lunged toward one of the witch guards and ripped his head off. Before he could go any farther, Genevieve and another witch linked hands and telekinetically pinned Klaus to the wall.

"Klaus, no!" I screamed as he struggled against the spell that was being held against him, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't get free. Monique and the witch from before continued to keep him pinned to the wall.

I started shaking my head when I watched Genevieve grab a dagger and walked towards me with it. I screamed again, knowing that no one was going to come help me but it made me feel a whole lot better.

"You should know this brings me no joy. I promise I'll make it quick," Genevieve told us.

"Stay the hell away from me!" I howled as one of the witches covered my lower half with a sheet. "Please, don't do this! Please!"

"Let's begin, shall we?" Genevieve started.

Labour was a whole lot worse than what Eve and Aunt Jennifer made it seem. And now, either one of them was here to help me. If anything, I wanted Hayley with me right now. The pain was too much to bear, and I almost couldn't do it anymore. Push after push after push I did, but it felt like it wasn't doing any good. The winds blew harder than before as I screamed, letting my magic cut loose from me and wreck havoc around me. The church began breaking down a little, with the walls and ceilings starting to crack and a few of the pews being pulled out of the ground.

Klaus kept yelling threats at Genevieve and the witches, but I was forced to ignore it as I focused on, you know, _childbirth_. "One last push! Push! The baby's almost here!" Genevieve said.

"No!" I sobbed as I shook my head. "I can't! I can't!"

"I can see the baby!" Monique said.

"Push! Gently! Gently!" Genevieve said again.

Finally, with one final push and a huge shift in my abdomen downwards, I felt my strained muscles relax as I fell backwards onto the table, struggling to regain my breath. I was slicked with sweat, and I all wanted to do was sleep.

"There!" Genevieve declared.

My sleepiness feeling slipped away instantly when I heard the gentle cries of Baby Gilbert. I immediately pushed myself up on the table with my hands, and I stared in shock as one of the witches cut the umbilical cord, and Genevieve wrapped up my baby in a blanket as she continued to cry.

I couldn't see her properly. Why couldn't I see her properly?

"You have a beautiful baby daughter," Genevieve congratulated. "We must start the sacrifice as soon as the moon sets with the morning sky-"

"Please," I cut in as I struggled to stay sitting up. "Please, let me hold her. Just once."

I thought Genevieve would say no, but she walked over to me and held out my squirming baby to me. I felt my heart soar as I leaned over and took her from Genevieve, careful to keep her head up as I held her in my arms. And just like that, I was sobbing. Here was this little thing that I spent nine long months working on. All the days of morning sickness, the swollen ankles, the mood swings, and all the New Orleans drama was worth it as I stared into her perfect little face. Her nose was like mine, but she had Klaus's face shape, and his bright blue eyes when I saw her open her eyes. I let my lower lip wobble. "Hey, Baby Gilbert," I sobbed as smile crossed my face. "I know you. Mommy's been waiting for you." I leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her perfect forehead. I looked over my shoulder to where Klaus was being sprung up, and the look of pure awe on his face was amazing to me. I turned my body a little so that I wasn't blocking Baby Gilbert, and I held her up more for Klaus to see properly as I offered him a gentle smile. Here was a thing that the two of us worked together to make, who was a perfect mixture of the two of us.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my hair and yanked my head back so that my neck was fully exposed. I felt a quick slash and stinging sensation across my throat, and I instantly found it difficult to breathe. Out of the corner of my eyes, I watched as blood poured down freely from the open wound on my throat. I gasped and gagged as I felt Baby Gilbert being lifted out of my arms. I wanted to call out "No!" but all I could do was put my hands to my throat as the blood gushed through my fingers. I fell backwards against the table as the life began to bleed out of me quickly.

My vision blurred, and the last thing I heard was Klaus's constant screams of my name as I died.

* * *

_When I woke up this time, I took a deep breath in as I flung myself forward. I was laying in a forest, which I recognized as the forest of Mystic Falls from when I had gone camping with my family. What the hell? Wasn't I just in New Orleans?_

_ The thought of New Orleans made me put my hands automatically to my stomach where Baby Gilbert was, but I felt dread and despair when I felt a flat stomach. She wasn't there. What happened to her?_

_ "Juliet?" I heard, and I turned my head to see a figure that I had seen in pictures before._

_ "Stefan?" I tried, and he nodded as he walked over to me. I walked over to him, looking all around me. It looked like the place I was in when I had fought Mikael. "What's going on? Where am I?"_

_ "You're on the Other Side," he answered. "But if you're here, then that means you're..."_

_ "Dead," I finished, putting my hand to my throat. "But wait, if you're here too, doesn't that mean that you're dead?"_

_ He nodded. "It's really complicated." He pointed at my stomach. "What's with the baby bump being gone?"_

_ I sucked in a gasp. "Baby Gilbert! I had her, I gave birth to her.. My baby _needs_ me. The witches of New Orleans are going to try and sacrifice her, I have to get to her."_

_ "Come on," Stefan said as he offered me his hand. "Bonnie's going to bring us all back."_

_ "How?" I asked._

_ He waved it away. "She's got this whole plan, but there's no time to explain. Just give me your hand."_

_ Knowing that another second I waste was another second Baby Gilbert was close to death, I reached over to put my hand in Stefan's. But when I put my hand in Stefan's, it passed right through it. I tried again, but it didn't work._

_ "What the hell?" I wondered as I lifted my hand up._

_ "Maybe you're not all the way here," He offered._

_ Suddenly, I felt tugging at the back of my mind. I noticed myself getting tugged more and more backwards, and I held out my hand for Stefan to grab. "Stefan!" I called out. _

_ He was too late, and I felt myself being engulfed with darkness._

* * *

I awoke with a deep gasp, my chest expanding as I took in a deep gulp of air. I felt dried blood sticking to my skin and the front of my clothes as I used my hands to slowly push myself up on the table. I looked down at my neck and put my hand where my neck wound was, but it had been completely healed. What the hell was going on?

Flashs suddenly came back to me. Me in labour, Baby Gilbert being born, Klaus being pinned to the wall, and a witch slitting my throat. But that wasn't the only memories that came back.

All the memories that I had lost when I fell into my coma had returned. Meeting the Salvatore brothers, being drawn into their supernatural world, leaving with Klaus and Stefan when Stefan had been taken by Klaus in exchange for his brother's life, unwittingly falling in love with Klaus, all of our moments that we had shared together since our first meeting...

I was forced to push those memories from my mind when I looked down at my stomach and noticed a certain lack of a baby bump. Baby Gilbert. She was here. But if I didn't get off of my butt and do something, she wouldn't be here for long.

I swung my legs over the table in the church, my feet loudly hitting the crowd. The back of my throat burned, and I felt this hunger deep within me, but I pushed myself off of the table in determination. My baby needed me, and I needed to save her.

* * *

I felt this pull as I walked out of the church and towards the tombs of the Lafeyette cemetery, as if I knew that Baby Gilbert was there somewhere. I didn't know if that was a mothering instinct or just something I knew, but I knew that I was going in the right direction.

"We've passed through here twice already," I heard Elijah's voice as I walked into the tomb. "We're running out of time."

"Then we move faster," came Klaus's voice.

"We better," Hayley growled. "I am _not _going to let that kid die and I did _not_ lose Juliet for nothing."

"Or you have to be smarter," I suggested as I stood in the doorway of the tomb. Elijah, Klaus, and Hayley all froze when they heard my voice. I must have been a sorry sight-covered in blood, sweat, and looking exhausted, but they all looked at me like I was Greek Goddess.

Klaus rushed over to me and put his hand on my cheek. "How are you alive?" He asked as he cradled my face. "I watched Monique slit your throat."

My voice made me sound like I was in some kind of dazed trance. "I woke up alone in the church. I felt this hunger..." I shook my head a little. "I knew what I needed." I felt a shiver run down my spine. "She's here," I whispered as I walked more towards the pull, as if I was tied to it with a string. "My Baby is here. I can feel her."

It looked like something had finally hit Klaus. "You died with the baby's blood still in your system." He turned to Elijah. "She's in transition."

"Which means she has to drink the blood of the child if she is to survive," Elijah continued.

"To be reborn a hybrid," Klaus finished. "Or a vampire. I'm not sure which one."

I growled as I spun around on my heel to face the three of them. "I don't care about what happens to me. Now, the three of you can talk amongst yourselves," I looked directly at Klaus. "But I'm going to go after our daughter."

I spun on my heel and walked out of the tombs, and I heard Elijah, Klaus, and Hayley following after me. The sun hurt my eyes as I led them through the maze of tombs towards my baby, but I fought to ignore it as I was more determined to get to Baby Gilbert.

"_Nouvelle vie, nouvelle âme, mélange avec nous,_" I heard faintly, and I knew we were getting closer to the witches.

"_Nouvelle vie, nouvelle âme, mélange avec nous," _was louder as we all turned the corner. I felt like my heart was going to stop in my chest as I watched Genevieve raise her dagger above my baby's head.

"NOOO!" I roared, and they all looked up to see me. Growling, I lifted my hands and used my magic to push Genevieve backwards. The very ground began to shake as nature tried to come to terms with all the power that was surging through my body. Once Genevieve was away from the baby, the four of us charged the other witches. Monique and one of the other witches grabbed each others hands and held their free hands out to us, pushing the four of us backwards away from them.

"_La mère, le père, le frère, la s__œur... La m__ère, le père, le frère, la s__œur..._" the other witch chanted.

"You fools! To come against us in our place of power in our strongest hour? You don't face three, you face us all!" Monique declared.

"Oh, I hear you," I growled, and I got back to my feet. Despite the pressure that was going on around me, I found it surprisingly easy to rise to my feet again now that I didn't have eight pounds of baby weighing me down. "I'm a New Orleans witch, too, you crazy bitch." With that, I clapped my hands together and then pushed them out.

Unfortunately, my power wasn't enough to break down all the powers of the ancestors. Elijah, Hayley, Klaus and I all split up to try and get to Baby Gilbert. I found Genevieve picking up the dagger that she had when she tried to sacrifice Baby Gilbert, and I kicked it out of her hand as soon as she touched it. I grabbed the back of her head and threw a right hook, causing her to go sprawling on the ground.

As soon as she was down, I rushed towards the table that my baby was on. Before I could get there, I suddenly felt a searing pain erupt in my head, and I fell to my knees with a scream as I put my hands to my head.

"_La m__ère, le père, le frère, la s__œur... La m__ère, le père, le frère, la s__œur..._" Monique and the other witch continued to chant.

Suddenly, a spike speared the other witch in the stomach, killing her and breaking the connection that she and Monique had had with the ancestors. Monique broke away from the other witch and grabbed the dagger that Genevieve was trying to get to try and finish the sacrifice herself. She built up a magic wall of fire as Klaus and Elijah tried to vamp speed towards her.

"NOO!" I howled, and Genevieve made my pain infliction spell even worse. Just as Monique was about to sacrifice the baby, she was hit with some sort of star thing which embedded itsef in her stomach.

Suddenly, Marcel came out of nowhere, grabbed Baby Gilbert, and vamp sped away with her.

I felt the spell's hold finally break when I heard a cry of pain from behind me, and I looked behind me to see Hayley standing over Genevieve's unconscious body, holding up a large rock in her hands. "I never did like her," She commented lightly as she dropped the rock next to her body.

I smirked at her, but I pushed myself to my feet and ran over to Klaus. "Go after her. I'll take care of Genevieve," I told him.

He nodded, and then he was gone as he vamp sped out of the cemetery. I turned around and took another look at Genevieve's body, Hayley and Elijah looking at me expectantly. I looked back up at them. "Grab her and follow me."

Elijah and Hayley didn't interfere as I shackled Genevieve to one of the tombs. As soon as she came too, I grabbed the back of her head by her hair and shoved it closer to mine as I dug my nails into the back of her head. "You have five minutes to talk before I rip your heart out."

"The Ancestors left me no choice-" Genevieve tried.

I growled. "You were willing to sacrifice an innocent soul-my _daughter_-to get more power?!"

"No, not just power!" Genevieve frantically shook her head. "It was the Ancestors' decree. It was _her _decree."

Elijah gently moved me out of the way and grabbed Genevieve by the face. "It was whose decree?" He demanded.

She smiled weakly. "I'm surprised you have to ask." She chuckled darkly. "After all, you were the one who convinced your siblings to consecrate her on New Orleans soil."

The only person that I remembered consecrating into New Orleans soil was... "Esther," I said as it dawned on Hayley and Elijah as well.

Elijah let go of Genevieve and made a noise of disgust. "So, not even death can stop my mother from seeking the annihilation of her own flesh and blood."

"This isn't the end." Genevieve said anxiously. "As long as that child lives, the witches of New Orleans will never stop coming for it." She scrunched up her face as she let out a sob. "Esther will never stop coming for it. It has been decreed- your baby will be consecrated among her ancestors. She will not live."

Suddenly, blood began trickling down from Genevieve's eyes, and she looked terrified. "They're coming for me, I can feel it. I failed them. Understand- I just wanted to live. Tell Klaus... I'm sorry."

I walked over to Genevieve as I watched her choke on her own blood. I didn't feel anything for her-not sadness, not pity. Just anger. Anger that she thought that she could take my baby away from me.

That was what made me do what I did next.

I shoved the dagger that she had tried to use to kill my baby with deep into her stomach. She gasped in shock and pain and looked down at her stomach as blood poured out of the open wound. She looked back up at me.

I stared her head in the eyes as I felt no remorse. "Have fun in hell," I chirped as I dragged the knife upwards, splitting her stomach open.

I left the dagger in there as I walked away from her and let her die. However, the moment she had actually died, I felt this wave of pain take over me, and I screamed in pain at the feeling. The bones in my legs shifted, and I fell to the ground at the pain of it all.

"Genevieve was her first kill," Hayley informed Elijah. "She triggered the curse."

I felt fangs beginning to protrude out of my jaw, and I howled as I felt my eyes burn bright. However, this was a rather inconvenient time to be turning into a werewolf, so I used all the magic I could muster in me and stopped my bones from shifting further, instead having them turn back to the way they were before as I slowly rose to my feet. I cracked my neck, and a cooling sensation ran down my body. I took one last look at Genevieve's body (the one action that changed my life forever) but I just turned my head to the front and strolled out of the tombs.

After all, I had to go meet my daughter.

* * *

I sat in the rocking chair in Baby Gilbert's nursery, rocking slowly back and forth in it. I grinned at my daughter as she slept soundly in my arms, gently touching her nose with my finger.

"She just looks so _real_," Hayley said from her spot where she was kneeling beside me, dreamily admiring her niece. I gave her a look that said, "well, duh", but she shook her head at me. "You know what I mean. I can't believe that after nine months of protecting the two of you, here she is."

"She loves her Auntie Hayley, doesn't she?" I cooed as I nodded my head at Baby Gilbert. I still couldn't believe that she was here myself.

"And Auntie Hayley loves her," Hayley responded as she gently kissed Baby Gilbert's forehead. She sighed as she looked up at me. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" I asked in confusion as I finally tore my eyes away from the perfection that _was _Baby Gilbert.

She looked down. "I was there for _everything_ of the pregnancy," She started. "The morning sickness, the cravings, the swollen ankles, the mood swings..." She sighed. "But I missed the most important thing of all-I missed her _birth_."

I gave her a look. "You couldn't have possibly controlled that," I assured her. "Technically, you turning was my fault because I didn't make you the potion."

"But still..." She trailed off as she looked down at Baby Gilbert.

I carefully balanced Baby Gilbert in my arms so that I could put my hand on top of Hayley's. "You're here now, and that's all that matters."

When I finally got her to smile, I pulled my hand away from her and put it back on Baby Gilbert, snuggling her to my chest.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" She asked as she leaned back on her knees.

I shook my head. "I've narrowed it down to four names: Aria, Isabella, Charlotte, and Angela."

"Hey, Angela's the name I suggested!" Hayley said. "You should go with Angela."

I shook my head slightly as I looked down at Baby Gilbert. "She just doesn't _feel_ like an Angela."

Hayley huffed. "Well, whatever you want. You _are_ the Mommy, after all."

I nodded at her. "Yes, I am. And as her Mommy, I am making her middle name Hayley."

Hayley perked up her head, and I could see her eyes glistening a little. "Really? You're really making my name her middle name?"

I smiled. "If it weren't for her Auntie Hayley, Baby Gilbert might not even be alive. Besides, I already promised the Godmother position to Caroline when we were, like, five. Middle name was the next best thing."

Hayley let out a small sob. "I'm so honoured," She said as she looked back down at Baby Gilbert. "Do you think I could...?"

I was reluctant to let her go (the last time I did that, she was nearly sacrificed) but I complied and shifted her into Hayley's arms, who sat down properly on the ground and cradled her to her chest. "Hey, Baby Gilbert," She whispered. "It's your Aunt Hayley."

I leaned back in the rocking chair and watched the two of them. Since I triggered the curse, all my senses had heightened slightly more, and I could pick up the conversation that Klaus and Elijah were having in my bedroom that was next to the nursery.

"We should have felt our mother's hand in this," Klaus growled. "We should have known she would not be bound by anything as obvious as death. And now she has control of the witches. They will never stop."

"No," Elijah agreed.

"Nor would I expect the Guerrera wolves to back down," Klaus grumbled. "Juliet and the child are wolf royalty, and as such, they are a threat to Francesca's claim to the leadership. They will never be safe." He paused for a beat. "What was it you said to me earlier? That I have made enemies every day of my miserable life? Well, the worst of them are within these borders, brother."

I heard Elijah sigh in frustration, and I tucked my hair behind my ear to try and hear better. "I have brought into the world a weapon they can use against me," Klaus said sadly.

"Then we will arm ourselves!" Elijah argued. "Brother, we have fought every adversary in this town, and we have won. And we'll fight them again, no matter who they are! We will make this home a fortress."

"I will not have her live her life as a prisoner," Klaus denied.

"Then we leave here, together. All of us," Elijah suggested.

"Wherever we go, however far we run, those who seek power and revenge will hunt us!" Klaus pointed out. "They will hunt her. She has inherited all of our enemies with none of our defences."

"So, whether we stay, or we leave- we condemn her," Elijah finished.

Klaus was right. As long as Baby Gilbert was here, she would be in constant danger. She didn't deserve to grow up like that. And as her mother, I had vowed to protect her by any means possible.

I tuned myself out of the conversation as I turned to Hayley and held out my arms. "Can I?"

"Of course," She said as she put Baby Gilbert back into my arms. I fit her head into the crook of my arm as I got up from the rocking chair and walked over to where the brothers were, Hayley on my heels.

"We do have a third option," I reminded them as I walked in. "I was born in a warzone."

Klaus and Elijah both turned their heads, surprised to see me standing in the doorway with Baby Gilbert safely in my arms.

"My parents thought they could protect me, as all parents do," I started. "But unfortunately, they were all cut down. They thought that they could build peace here _and_ raise their daughter. But while I grew up with a great family, there are parts of me that long to know what it would have been like, should I have been raised here in New Orleans." I looked down at my daughter and smiled, despite the tears that were threatening to spill over. "I promised my baby-and myself-that she would grow up the way that I was-happy, loved, and safe." I shook my head a little. "And yet, here she is, her first day in this world, and she has a grandmother who is hell bent on sacrificing her-" I broke into a stutter as I finally let out my sobs. "And a mother who has to drink the blood of her own baby to survive transitioning into a freaking _hybrid_." I readjusted her blanket to try and secure it around her more. "And I'm the one who loves her the most in this God forsaken world."

I felt Hayley's hand on my shoulder, and she hugged me to her body as she ran her hand up and down my arm to try and comfort me.

I sniffled, trying to calm down, and I looked up at Baby Gilbert's family, the people who love her as I proposed my idea. "The only way to ensure her safety and keep my promise to her is to send her away... while we stay behind and clean up the mess that we created."

"No!" Elijah rejected. "This is insane. You heard Genevieve- so long as she lives, that baby will be hunted."

Klaus stood and walked over to me and Baby Gilbert in the doorway, putting his hand around me shoulder and pressing me and Baby Gilbert to his side as I refused to take my gaze off of my daughter. "Not if no one knows she lives."

"What is it you intend to do, brother?" Elijah asked in confusion.

"Whatever it takes to save our family," Klaus told him.

* * *

The plan was agreed on. I walked back into the nursery with Baby Gilbert. I shifted her in my arms a little. "Take a good look around, baby," I told her as I looked around the beautiful nursery that Klaus had built to signify our new beginning with our baby-that would now have to wait. "This was your first home." I looked down to her, where she was now awake and just looking up at me, her Mommy. I smiled weakly at her. "You'll see it again someday. I promise."

I heard footsteps behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Klaus walking in. I gave him a small smile before looking back around at the nursery. "It's a shame all this is going to waste, huh?"

"Not to waste," He argued as he stepped over to me, putting his arm around my shoulder and placing his other hand on top of my hand that was holding up Baby Gilbert's head. He smiled as her gaze shifted towards her father's. "She looks like you."

I scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" I asked him. "Look at the shape of her face, the colour of her eyes. She's all you."

"Look at the shape of her little nose," Klaus said, gently tapping her nose, which made me smile. "I always loved your nose. I'm glad our daughter's inherited it."

I turned my head so that my nose was brushing his. "We're going to bring her back," I told him firmly.

He nodded. "If it's the last thing that I do."

I looked back down at my baby, and I remembered something. "Here, take her," I told him, and I passed Baby Gilbert gently to his arms. As soon as she was secure in his arms, I went over to the dresser where I had stored the letter that I had written for Baby Gilbert. I grabbed it, and then her baby bag as I put it on top of the changing station. I put a bunch of supplies in the baby bag (including the clothes and toys that her family in Mystic Falls sent her, some diapers, and some formula) before finally tucking the letter in last.

I took Baby Gilbert back from Klaus, who looked at me expectantly. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a pin. "Are you ready?"

I shook my head. "No." But nevertheless, I turned my face away as he gently stuck Baby Gilbert's finger with it to release a large drop of blood. Though I dreaded it, I gently bent my head and kissed the drop of blood that had come out of her wound. The blood landed on my tongue, and then began coursing through my body, completing my transition into a hybrid. Though now that I had triggered my curse and was turned by vampire blood, I still felt the familiar buzz of magic in my fingertips. I had also been able to use magic against Genevieve and the other witches back at the cemetery. Was I just a vampire-werewolf hybrid? Or maybe more?

Elijah and Hayley then walked into the room, Hayley with tears pooling in her eyes as she watched me with Baby Gilbert.

I cradled my baby girl in my arms, hugging her to my chest. I know Elijah and Klaus were expecting me to give her to them, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. Even though this was my idea, now that I was actually faced with the prospect of not having her near me every single second of the day (she had been a part of me every single second for nine months straight) I didn't want to let her go.

"I don't want to," I whispered, willing my voice not to break. I refused to take my eyes off of my daughter.

"Juliet," Klaus said softly. "We have to take-"

"No!" I roared, hugging her even tighter to me. "She's my baby girl. I can't Klaus. Never mind, forget this plan."

"We're doing this for her," Hayley tried telling me. "I know it's hard, but-"

"How could you possibly know?" I asked, my voice finally breaking. I looked down at her perfect face. "I haven't had the chance to do anything yet! I want to feed her. I want to sing her to sleep. I want to be the one who soothes her sobs when she wants her Mommy at three AM," I sobbed, my gaze going over to Klaus. "Don't make me do it. Please."

Klaus lifted his arm, and I automatically flinched. He stopped, then tried again, and when I didn't object, he fully put his arm around me so that I was being squished into his side, but our baby wasn't.

"Do you think I want to do this, Juliet?" He whispered in my ear. "I love her just as much as you do. We're being good parents by sending her away."

"Then I don't want to be a good parent," I cried, gently resting my forehead on hers, tears slipping down my face.

Klaus pressed a gentle kiss on my head. "Yes, you do. Deep in your heart, Juliet, you know that you have to do this. _You_ were the one saying that you will do whatever you have to do to keep our baby safe, including sending her away." He gently grabbed my chin, making me look up at him. With his soft fingers, he wiped my tears away. "This is her better life...this is her _best chance_."

My lower lip started wobbling as I fought my tears back. I had already cried so much today. I knew that I would run dry soon enough. I squeezed my eyes shut and brought my baby up to my face so that her cheek was pressing against mine. "I need a minute alone," I whispered.

Even though I didn't have my eyes open, I knew that Elijah looked like he was about to object, and I didn't blame him. We were running out of time.

But I also knew that Klaus would give me the time with my child that I desired. If I was going to give her up...if I was going to _let her go_, I was going to do it properly.

I could hear their footsteps with my new hybrid hearing as they left the room, and I let out a deep breath. I opened my eyes, as I began to press kisses to her cheeks, her forehead, anywhere I could kiss.

I held her to my body as I softly began to rock her. "Listen to me, baby girl. Mommy already left you a letter, but I have to say this, or Mommy's going to regret it for the rest of her life." I kissed the top of her head as tears fell from my eyes. "Mommy loves you. She wouldn't be doing this if she didn't. And sometimes, Mommies and Daddies have to make very hard decisions. And you need to know that this is the hardest decision that I'll ever have to make in my life," I cried, and I kissed her forehead. "You just need to know, that this is a good thing. You can't hate Mommy and Daddy for letting you go, for however long we need to. Mommy is like you. Something happened to her Mommy and Daddy, and she needed to go live with new ones." I kissed her temples next. "But those people were the best Mommy and Daddy she could have ever asked for. And she's very thankful to her real Mommy and Daddy that they gave her the opportunity to live with such nice people." A gentle kiss to her eyelids. "Those nice people were the best family Mommy could have ever asked for. Those people, and a few others, made Mommy strong." A kiss to her perfect nose. "And now, Mommy is going to pass that strength on to you. Because you need to be strong, my sweetie. Your life, is _never_ going to be an easy one. But Mommy and Daddy decided that we could handle that." I pressed my lips to her soft cheeks in a lingering kiss. "But it wasn't enough. You're going to be okay. Mommy knows you are. You're Klaus Mikaelson and Juliet Gilbert's daughter," I laughed through my tears. "You're going to beat this." A final, sweet kiss to her gentle lips. I brought her face away from mine as I stared into her baby blue eyes, a perfect mixture of me and Klaus. "You are going to beat this, Baby Mikaelson."

I hugged her one last time, and the sound of her cooes filled my ears as I walked out of the room and over to Klaus, who was standing in the hallway with Elijah and Hayley. I turned my head away and closed my eyes as I held her out. I could do this...I just couldn't watch.

Gently, I felt her being lifted from my arms, and I felt naked without the weight of her cradled to my chest. I kept my eyes closed as I wrapped my arms around my body, trying to keep myself from breaking into a million pieces.

A hand was on my shoulder, and Elijah whispered, "He's gone."

And my knees buckled, sending me crashing to the ground. Of course, Elijah caught me before I could hit the floor, but I didn't notice. I was too busy crying my heart out. I felt Elijah's arms wrap around me, and I fell into him as I wrapped my arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. I then felt Hayley's hand on my shoulder, and I shifted from Elijah to Hayley. I felt overwhelmed with my newfound hybrid emotions, and I sobbed in despair.

My heart was split. One half of my heart was for my baby, and now she was gone.

How was a person supposed to function when half of her heart was gone?

* * *

Klaus met Rebekah out on the border of New Orleans. Her car pulled up in front of his, and Rebekah got out of the car. When she spotted her brother and her newborn niece, she smiled.

Klaus smiled back at her as she reached them. "Hello, sister," He greeted.

Rebekah gently touched the baby and stared at her in wonder. "Oh, she looks just like her mother." She smiled before looking over at her brother. "Maybe there is a God after all."

Klaus laughed as he cradled his daughter to his chest but moved around enough for Rebekah to get a proper look at her face. "Well, she has a hint of the devil in her eyes. That's all me." He let a beat pass as he admired his baby, a perfect mix of himself and the woman he loved. "I need a witch you can trust to cast a cloaking spell."

"I'll get one," Rebekah assured him.

"No one can ever find her," Klaus warned.

"I know what to do, Nik," Rebekah insisted as the two of them looked over at the baby. "Perhaps we'll get a white fence. I think that would be lovely."

Klaus held up the baby to get a last look at her before she left with Rebekah, and lowered his voice to a whisper as he said goodbye, much like Juliet had. "This city would have seen you dead. But, I will have it your home. And every soul who wishes you harm will be struck down, just as sure as my blood runs in your veins."

Rebekah could obviously here this, and while she had a horrified expression on her face, Klaus's look was just pure devastation. "You _will _return to me," He assured her. His mind raced back to the promise that he had made his daughter's mother. "You will return to the _both of us_."

Klaus gave his daughter one last kiss on the forehead and the cheek before handing her off to his sister. Then, he gave Rebekah and the baby the tiny wooden knight that he had carved for Rebekah one thousand years ago, which made Rebekah reach out and grab his hand as she started to cry.

"In spite of our differences, Rebekah, there is no one I would trust more with my daughter's life," He confessed to her. Klaus gave his sister a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Be happy, sister."

Rebekah smiled despite her years. "She _will _be happy, Nik. I promise."

"She better be, or you'll be getting an earful from her mother," Klaus told her, which made the two of them laugh as they knew that was exactly something that Juliet would do.

Rebekah looked down at the baby, then back up at Klaus. "What's her name?"

Klaus paused as he looked at the child that Juliet had so affectionately called "Baby Gilbert" for the duration of her pregnancy. He and Juliet had only discussed names that one time, and back then, it seemed like she hadn't made a decision yet on the name of their baby. His mind raced through the four names that Juliet had had picked out to choose from, and he decided to pick the one that they had both liked. The one thing that they had both agreed on that would signify the shift of their relationship. The name that when he had searched for baby names (yes, he wasn't scared to admit it...to anyone _other_ than Juliet) had been such a perfect description of a name for Klaus Mikaelson's and Juliet Gilbert's daughter that it was the _only_ name that he could have possibly wanted.

"Charlotte," He told his sister, who nodded. He smiled as he thought of Juliet's wish, and her finally acknowledging that the child was a Mikaelson when he overheard her goodbye to their daughter. "Charlotte Hayley Mikaelson."

Klaus finally allowed himself to start crying as he watched his daughter Charlotte being put into Rebekah's car, and he watched with devastation as Rebekah and Charlotte drove off, not knowing when they'd be back.

But they _would_ be back. Klaus would make sure of it.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Very emotional chapter! AND the end of season 1! It only took like two years to get here but we're here!**

**Also, I hope you guys don't mind that I changed Hope's name. Like, I think it's a nice, symbolic name, but I don't feel that **_**Baby Gilbert**_** Baby Gilbert could be called Hope, do you know what I mean?**

**Also, who else thought it was beautiful that for the very first time, Juliet acknowledged Baby Gilbert as Baby Mikaelson? I thought it was symbolic to her finally accepting being a part of the Mikaelson family.**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**


	25. Rebirth

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry this chapter has been delayed! I actually caught double pneumonia and I was in the hospital for a while, which is why I couldn't update anything, but I'm back now!

Welcome to season 2 of the Originals! Finally, we're here!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hayley Marshall stomped through the compound, her boots loudly clacking on the ground as she called out, "Elijah! Elijah!"

Before Hayley could even blink, Elijah vamp sped in front of her. She put a hand to her chest, willing her heart to return to a normal beating pattern. "Could you not do that? It's creepy."

"I apologize," He nodded his head. "Was there something that you needed, Hayley?"

Hayley sighed, crossing her arms. "I haven't seen Juliet for a couple of days. Have you?"

Elijah's face dropped. "What do you mean, you haven't seen her for a couple of days?"

Hayley rolled her eyes. "I mean, the last time I saw her was Wednesday. It's Friday today."

"Hayley, she's been in a vulnerable state for the past few months, and I thought it was best to leave her with your family was because she needed training as a werewolf. Was I wrong in putting my trust in you?" Elijah demanded.

Hayley glared at him. "You don't think I don't know that she's been going full on batshit crazy without Charlotte? Elijah, there are things that you don't know-that I don't _tell_ you-that she does."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Hayley sighed again. "Once, she disappeared for two days. I didn't tell you because I thought it was going to be a one time thing that she did. The entire pack searched and searched for her, but we couldn't find her. When I finally _did_ find her, she was nestled in a hole in the ground. Her clothes were teared, and she was covered in blood. She claimed she didn't know how it ended up there, but I found the remains of the fire she had started to burn the bodies. Elijah, she's been killing and killing, and I don't think she even realizes that she does it. It's like she goes into some kind of trance when she gives into her vampire side."

Elijah groaned, covering his eyes with his hands. "This is what I feared would happen. She's still such a new vampire, all of her emotions are heightened and she doesn't know how to deal with it. I knew I should have insisted on helping her with her vampire side."

"Well, she also has a werewolf side to deal with now too," Hayley pointed out. "And we were the only ones who could have helped her with that that she trusted."

"Clearly she doesn't trust you all that much if she leaves for days at a time and returns covered with blood," Elijah retorted.

Hayley pulled her lips back into a growl. "She still trusts us more than she trusts the Mikaelsons." She shook her head. "You know what? All I came here for was to see if you had seen Juliet. And now that I know that you haven't, I'm leaving."

Hayley pushed past Elijah, despite his protests, and stormed away. preparing another search in her mind for her cousin.

* * *

I'll admit, shifting in and out of wolf form was painful, but it was so much easier being in wolf form than being in human form. For one, being in human form meant that I felt the hunger of being a vampire so much more, and because I didn't particularly care about anything when I was hungry, I'd go and eat my fill until I realized the mistake that I made. I'd burn the bodies to cover my tracks and then feel guilty for a while until my hunger returned and I did it all over again. I seemed to have this never ending hunger that was never satisfied. I asked Elena if this was normal, but she was mourning the loss of Bonnie and Damon too hard (did I mention? The two of them died. Another reason for me to remain in wolf form-I didn't think about Bonnie that much) to really answer me.

The second reason being in wolf form was so much easier was that animal instincts took over. My only thought would be to stalk, or rest, or whatever else being a wolf entailed. I didn't have to think about human needs or human thoughts. I always tried to keep myself busy, because if I didn't, my mind wandered to my baby...

Charlotte Hayley Mikaelson. My little miracle. Gone.

Everyday I thought about her. What she was doing, how she looked, if she had eaten yet, if she was big enough to fit into the clothes that Matt had given her. I thought about the few precious moments that I held her in my arms. Whenever I thought about Charlotte, I always felt the need to break something. Half the bayou was practically destroyed because I kept breaking all the trees.

I'd been in my wolf form for a while, so I finally decided to shift back into human form. Immediately I felt hunger, but I chose to ignore it for now as I quickly redressed. Once I was done changing, I found something strange. I pushed past the grass, reached down, and grabbed it. It was a little baby doll, burnt and melted, probably from the bayou bombings. I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cry, so I tossed the baby doll as far away from me as possible. I shook the feeling off, stood up, and walked away.

* * *

I hadn't been to the compound in a while, but I wanted to go to Charlotte's nursery. If I couldn't have her here, I wanted to be in the last place that we were happy.

However when I got there, I saw Elijah was in the middle of packing up Charlotte's nursery. I felt anger course through my veins as I stopped dead in my tracks. "What the hell are you doing, Elijah?" I barked.

** "**Welcome back," He said passive agressively. "You've driven Hayley sick with worry. She even stopped by the compound to see if I had seen you. Obviously, I haven't."

I growled. "I'm not poor, defenseless Juliet Gilbert anymore, Elijah. Hybrids are strong enough to take care of themselves, remember? And again I ask, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"As we have discussed, our illusion needs to be flawless. Now, months have passed. It's the appropriate time," Elijah replied.

I laughed bitterly. "'Appropriate time'? Really? You know, most women _never_ get over the loss of a child, be it miscarriage or the death of a child. There is no timeline for grief, Elijah. There is no set time to get over something like this, which is what I can tell the public."

"I understand this is difficult for you-" He started.

I let my frustration boil over. "First of all, you can't _possibly_ even _begin_ to understand how difficult this is for me. And second of all, what I find difficult to believe is that Francesca Guerrera is still alive even after we found out that she was the one who was plotting with the witches to kill my baby."

"You will have your vengeance, I promise you this," He assured me.

I sighed. "Yeah, well, then until then, you don't have a say in what happens to this room. And I say that you're not taking this apart until I've 'had my time to grieve'," I finished, making quotation marks with my fingers. I grabbed the piece of the crib that was in Elijah's hands and pointed to the door with it. "You can leave now."

With that, Elijah strolled out of the room. I hated how cold things had gotten between Elijah and I, especially since we kissed twice before Charlotte was born, but right now, my utmost priority was making New Orleans safe enough for my baby to return. Maybe then Elijah and I could talk.

After I put the crib back together, I sat down in the rocking chair. I picked up one of the baby books that Klaus had bought for us to read to Charlotte and just began flipping through it. I imagined myself holding Charlotte in my arms and showing her the pictures and reading the words to her, even though the meaning of the words would be beyond lost to her. I felt tears swimming in my eyes, and a few of them escaped me as they dropped onto the pages in front of me.

"Juliet!" I heard, and I looked up to see Hayley running into the nursery. She bent down and grabbed me into a hug, holding me tightly. "Where were you for the past couple of days? I was so worried!"

I hugged her back. Even though all I wanted to do was hate life (I hated my vampire life, my werewolf life, my life without my baby) Hayley was still the only positive thing in my life, and the last thing in the world I wanted to do was push her away. "I'm fine," I assured her. "I was just in wolf form for a while. It's just easier for me to cope in wolf form."

She rubbed my back. "You know, if you ever want to talk, I'm here."

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I know. I did cry to you for the first few days, remember? You just held my hand and rubbed my back and told me that everything was going to be okay."

"And everything _will_ be okay," She assured me. "We're going to bring little Charlotte home, no matter what we have to do in order to do it."

I sniffled a little. "Hayley, I'm so sorry."

She scrunched up her eyebrows. "For what?"

I wiped away at the tears that began falling. Damn, I thought I was done with the horrible mood swings after finally being done pregnancy, but all my emotions are heightened as a hybrid. "For always worrying you, and for just up and leaving and not telling you where I go. I _know _that you have issues with abandonment and yet I still do it anyways-"

She cut me off by wrapping her arms around me and hugging me to her chest. "Shh. it's okay," She soothed. "Juliet, you've never abandoned me. If anything, you're the person that I can rely on the most _because_ you've never abandoned me. You can do a lot of things, but I'll always love you, because you're my family."

"I love you too, Hayley," I sobbed into her shirt. "Ugh, stupid heightened emotions."

"I think it's good," She said. "Let it all out."

So I did.

* * *

"We have the Guerreras where we want them," Klaus started. He and Elijah had called a meeting where we would decide what to do about the Guerreras and the moonlight rings that we had made before Charlotte's birth. It turned out, every full moon, the rings drew on Klaus's strength in order to work, and, well, we didn't want that. "We have them waiting, we have them worried, and now, we know they're an army with no defences against an Original."

"We don't know that for certain," Elijah tried.

Klaus shrugged. "I'm willing to gamble."

"Elijah's right, it's too risky," Hayley threw in. Klaus didn't want her involved in the plan, but she was my family and _I_ had wanted her there, and that shut him up. "The stake didn't just disappear, someone has it."

Klaus shrugged again. "One enemy at a time! In the end, we'll slay them all."

Klaus suddenly grimaced in pain, showing that one of the moonlight rings had been activated and was beginning to weaken him. "Tonight, we just have to plant the right seeds, and for that, we need help."

"We're taking the twelve original rings. Now, four of them sit on the hands of the Guerrera brothers. One on Oliver, one on Francesca, three with the home security detail, and the rest scattered amongst her lackeys. Now, each ring is distinguishable by its setting- gauche, like those that wear them," Elijah explained.

"If they believe they can get their hands on the stake, they will come for me when I am weak. Each ring you retrieve will strengthen me, but I will still at a disadvantage," Klaus pointed out.

"Ergo, any hope of our success depends entirely upon our working together," Elijah looked over at me. "The two of you can no longer afford to retreat to separate corners."

It was true that the progress that Klaus and I had been making before Charlotte was born had ultimately shattered after she had gone, but maybe this was the first step in the new progress that we had to make. After all, we were her parents and if we couldn't work together in something like this, we were gonna have trouble parenting her together when she came back.

Klaus sighed and stood up. "This is our fight. Are you ready for battle, Juliet?"

I stood up as well. "As long as Francesca doesn't make it out of this alive, I'm all in."

It was amazing how bloodthirsty I had become for Francesca Guerrera. Maybe it was a mothering instinct-she had threatened my baby's life and was one of the reasons why she wasn't here. Maybe it was that she was dangerous. Maybe it was that she was just a bitch. Or maybe I just wanted her head on a spike.

Klaus smiled at me. "Her head will be delivered to you on a silver platter, Mama Wolf."

"I'll deal with the last piece of the puzzle," Elijah declared.

* * *

I know I complained about being a hybrid before, but it still had its perks. The super strength. The super speed. The invincibility. I was unstoppable.

The Guerrera werewolves began invading the compound, and I saw one very familiar face that made my blood boil.

Oliver.

I clenched my fists as I held myself back. I would get my revenge on Oliver for betraying his pack, but I'd do it later. After all, he was also a person with a ring.

Two of the werewolves headed for one of the staircases where I was hidden. I immediately vamp sped out of hiding and snapped both of their necks easily. After months of draining bodies, killing came easily to me. It was something I was so ashamed to say, but I couldn't deny it. Killing was a part of my new nature, a part of the new me. I shook the feeling off as I reached down and slipped each of their rings off of their fingers. I held up the two of them and then pocketed them.

Just as I did so, I looked up to see many more Guerrera werewolves beginning to surround me. I tensed as I took in the threat, but my eyes closed in on the moonlight ring on the finger of one of the female security guards. I smirked. "Did I fail to mention that the past couple of months have been hell for me?" With that, I let my hybrid face show and I lunged for the crowd. I tore people apart, and I also managed to grab the moonlight ring.

Just as I was about to leave, I remembered someone who also had a moonlight ring. Oliver slowly began walking around the downstairs area of the compound, but I pounced on him before he could leave. With my superior hybrid strength, I pounded on him and beat him up. Finally, I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"You think you're big and mighty because of that ring you wear? You are _nothing_," I hissed as I squeezed his throat. "We were strong, we were part of a pack, and you ruined it."

With that I reached down and pulled the ring off of Oliver's finger. I held it up in front of his face. "If I ever catch you with one of these again, I swear to God I'll tear you apart myself." I dropped him down to the ground and stalked out of the compound.

My phone rang in my pocket and despite my hands having a little blood on them, I reached into my pocket and took it out. It was Elijah, so I answered. "This better be good."

"It is," He replied. "A certain Guerrera is attempting to flee New Orleans. I'm sure if you hurry, you can catch up to her."

Francesca. I felt my blood begin to boil as I smirked. "I'm sure I'll be fast enough."

* * *

I waited for Francesca on the road that led out of New Orleans. With my new combined werewolf and vampire senses, I could hear her car desperately speeding down the road in her attempt to try and escape. That made the pure animal in me start to get excited at the thought of the chase, the work that I had to do in order to make this kill. Sure, working made things harder, but it made things ever so fun, too.

Her car came into view, and she slammed on her brakes. I used that opportunity to vamp speed away from my spot in the middle of the road so Francesca couldn't see me. I made my way to her car door and yanked it open. Francesca screamed, but that didn't stop me from reaching into the car and grabbing her by the throat, pulling her out of the car. My hybrid strength was far superior to her regular werewolf strength, and I began squeezing her throat.

"Pop quiz," I said to Francesca. "When you're turned into a half vampire half werewolf, do you a) kill yourself, b) run away from home, or c) go on a murder spree to let out your anger over the fact that your baby is dead?"

I could hear Francesca's heart beating rapidly as she gasped to breath.

I made a buzzer noise. "Time's up," I snarled, my eyes turning red as black veins crawled under my eyes.

"Juliet, please," Francesca choked. "I'll give you anything. Please don't kill me."

The old Juliet would have let Francesca go. But I wasn't the old Juliet anymore. She died that day in the church. I was someone else entirely now.

"You shouldn't have crossed me, Francesca," I told her. "Actually, you shouldn't have crossed a _mother_."

With that, I bared my fangs and sank my teeth into her throat. She screamed as I savagely tore into her throat. I barely tasted the blood, focusing instead on making Francesca suffer physically as I had emotionally when I had to send Charlotte away hours after her birth.

Once I was sure and satisfied that Francesca was dead, I dropped her to the ground. Her blood stained my face, my clothes, my hair, and my hands. I made no move to try and clean the dripping blood from my mouth. It gave me strength that I truly lacked.

* * *

When I got back to the compound, I marched straight for Charlotte's nursery. The once beautiful nursery that inspired hope for my future now served as a constant reminder that that future couldn't happen. That it had been stolen from me. I looked down at the blood that covered my hands (metaphorically and literally) and realized that I had finally become what I had been dreading.

A monster.

That was what made me begin to tear apart Charlotte's crib that she'd never sleep in and push her toys that she'd never play with off of the dresser. Just as I was doing this, I felt a pair of hands on my arms, and I spun around to see Elijah pulling me away from the crib. I wretched myself out of his grip.

"Juliet, please, just settle down," He tried.

"'Settle down'?" I repeated. "'_Settle down_'? I _killed _Francesca Guerrera tonight, Elijah. She looked me in the eyes and begged for her life. But I tore into her. I ripped her throat open. I watched as the blood and life drained out of her." I felt hot tears beginning to stream down my face. "Her blood is currently digesting in my stomach! And you know what the worst part is? It didn't make feel any better! I don't feel closure. I don't feel happy. I don't feel sad. I don't feel _anything_."

"It's perfectly natural given what you're experiencing-" Elijah started.

"There is nothing natural about what I am, Elijah!" I thundered.

"As a hybrid, you will begin to experience feelings with a greater intensity. It will take time to master control," He explained.

I shook my head desperately. "I don't want this, Elijah. I never wanted this. I hate it! Becoming a vampire is one thing, but add becoming a werewolf on top of it and I can barely struggle to live! Whenever I'm in wolf form...I actually love it. I love the power and the way the wolf instincts take over and I don't have to think." I paused for a second as the horrible realization hit me. "I killed eight wolves tonight. And that was before I even killed Francesca. Eight of my own people. I'm supposed to be Juliet Gilbert. I'm supposed to show compassion to everyone, because I believed in it. There was nothing compassionate about what I did tonight. I acted no better than a..."

"...Than a vampire?" Elijah finished sadly.

I hated it, but that was what I felt. "Everything's different. Everything's changed. And not just for me, am I right?" I walked closer to him. The noble brother, the brother that took care of me when I had no idea who he was. "I saw the way you looked at me. You don't see me as Juliet Gilbert anymore. I was a mother, and now I'm a monster. And don't you dare say that I'm not a monster because I am."

Sympathy filled Elijah's eyes, but I didn't want sympathy. I didn't want people to pity me, or try to justify my actions. I know my actions were horribly wrong, yet I did them anyways, because I didn't care. All I cared about was revenge, and that wasn't who I was. "Things are different now, and you can't tell me that they're not."

I waited for Elijah to say something, but when it became clear that he didn't know what to say, I nodded my head and left the room. I ignored his calls of my name as I strolled to the room that I had stayed at in the compound.

I shut and locked the door behind me before heading over to my closet. I picked out jeans and a shirt and headed over to the bathroom. The stickiness of Francesca's blood made my clothes stick to my body, but I managed to peel it off of me as I dropped the clothes into the garbage that was in my bathroom. I turned the shower on and stepped inside. For a while I just sat in the tub and watched Francesca's blood turn the water pink and after the water became clear again (meaning that all of the blood had been washed off) I properly washed myself. I changed into my clothes and then stepped out of the bathroom, where, surprisingly, Klaus was sitting on the couch that I had in there.

"You always did take forever in the shower," He mused with a small smile on his face.

"How did you get in here?" I asked. I pointed at the door. "The door was locked."

He chuckled. "As if a locked door is gonna stop me."

I sighed as I walked over and sat down next to him. "I'm assuming Elijah told you about my little mental breakdown?"

Klaus nodded. "He did. He wanted me to talk to you."

"Don't bother," I insisted. "I don't deserve to feel better."

"It will _get _better," He told me.

I sniffled, feeling tears again. Stupid hybrid status. "Oh yeah? When?I'm immortal. If I can't survive today, how am I supposed to survive till the end of time?"

Klaus sighed, clearly unsure of what to say to me. He hesitated for a second before opening his mouth. "You know, over the years, I've had my share of friends, enemies, lovers, losses, and triumphs. With time, they all begin to run together. But, you will find that the real moments are vibrant. The rest... just fades away. Your pain will fade."

"My pain isn't gonna fade until my baby is safely in my arms where she belongs," I told him.

"And she will," He assured me. "But, in order to do that, we need to regain control of the city. Now, we worked separately to unite those wolves. We can work together to do it again. They don't need to be our enemies."

I rolled my eyes. "After the way we ambushed them, I don't think they're gonna be keen on playing a game of hokey pokey with us any time soon."

"You waged a just war on those who would harm your child! Not only will they respect you, they will answer to you!" Klaus insisted.

"Why would they answer to me?" I asked.

He smiled and ran his hand through my hair, and I surprised myself by letting him. "Because you're their queen."

I rolled my eyes. "First of all, I'm not their queen, Hayley is. I gave her the job all those months ago. And what about all our other enemies, like the witches? If I know anything about my other people, they don't stop even after death."

"We defeated my mother and her witches because we stood united," Klaus said. "That is how we will face all our enemies." He reached over and took my hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze. "As a family."

When he gave me a smile. I surprised myself by intertwining our fingers together and giving him a small smile in return. "As a family," I repeated.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Next chapter to follow (hopefully) soon! Season 2 guys!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next Chapter...**

_**Alive and Kicking...**_

**FLASHBACKS TO THE 1700's — as tensions between Elijah and ****Juliet**** grow, Klaus steps in and encourages her to regain her position within her werewolf pack****, even though she insists that it's not her position****. Still under Davina's control, Mikael grows impatient while she attempts to uncover a spell that would protect those closest to her. When Elijah turns to Marcel for help in tracking down a vital piece of information, he is forced to remember a time long ago when they were on better terms. Meanwhile, Davina and Kol (as Kaleb) find themselves in a dangerous situation when unexpected visitors show up and crash their dinner. Finally, Klaus grows suspicious after a meeting with Cassie/Esther doesn't go as he had planned.**


	26. Alive and Kicking

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** On to the next chapter!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I nursed a glass of red wine as I relaxed in the bathtub. I had filled the tub with just the right amount of bubbles, and the wine was to wash the taste of blood out of my mouth. Don't get me wrong, I now enjoyed the taste of blood thanks to my vampire status, but the after effect wasn't good for my teeth.

I alternated between sipping from my glass of wine to sipping blood from the wrist of the dead witch next to the bathtub. I heard footsteps starting to make its way to the bathroom door, and by the weight of the footsteps and the gait of the walker, I knew it was Elijah, who must have found the yellow brick witch road I had left behind after my adventure with Klaus. I smirked to myself as I relaxed more in the tub, waiting for Elijah to come into the room to scold me.

"Elijah, I'm surprised," I started when I heard the door open. "I would have thought that a gentleman like you would give a woman her privacy."

"You've had an eventful evening," Elijah stated.

I shrugged a little, causing the bubbles to move around me. "I was wallowing in my bed, thinking of Charlotte, and just having an overall shitty day when Klaus found me wrapped up in my blankets, where he offered to take me to the Cauldron. And what do you know, we ran into some witches!"

"So, would you like me to remove your leftovers?" Elijah asked sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes as I rose out of the tub and grabbed the towel that was next to me, covering myself up before Elijah could take a good look at my lady zone. Even though I was attracted to Elijah, I still didn't want to give him a free show. "Go right ahead. Just don't wrap it up, I like to eat stuff fresh."

Elijah gave me a look, and I sighed. "Come _on_. Isn't this what vampires are meant to do? I mean, that's what Klaus said."

"I would hope that you would hold yourself to a higher standard than Niklaus," Elijah said, concern and exasperation laced in his tone.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm a hybrid now, and I have a newfound werewolf temper to go with my newfound appetite. And the witches who tried to kill my baby," I paused, thinking about Charlotte before I snapped back to attention. "They're worth nothing more to me than food." I readjusted the towel wrapped around my body. "If you'll excuse me, the blood on the ground is enough of a mess that Hayley will no doubt be yelling at me about later, no need to add my bathwater to it." With that, I pushed past Elijah to go and change.

I didn't _want_ to attack the witches, believe me, I didn't, but as soon as I caught sight of the people who were part of the reason that my baby almost died and wasn't here with me, my mothering instincts kinda just took over and I lost it. I found myself grinning from ear to ear as blood dribbled down my face. That was what warranted the bath.

After my shower, I walked out to find Klaus sitting on my bed, toying with one of the bears that I had gotten Charlotte, which was one of the few things that still had her sweet scent. The urge to rip the toy out of his cold, dead hands washed over me, but I controlled myself by reminding myself that Klaus was Charlotte's father, and that he most likely smelled her scent on it too. I lowered the towel from my head where I was drying my hair. "I'm trying to remember the last time I stepped out of my bathroom and you weren't there."

"Pack your purse, love," Klaus announced, putting the toy down gently on my bed as he stood up. "We're going on a little day trip tomorrow."

"'Day trip'?" I repeated. "Where?"

"Oh, that's a surprise," He teased as he stood in front of me. "Elijah wants me to get you out of the house."

I rolled my eyes. "Remember the last time we got out of the house together? We laid waste to the witch valley which Elijah wasn't too fond of." I eyed him up and down. "What do you have planned, Mr. Mikaelson?"

* * *

"I don't see the point of going to the mall," I said as I crossed my arms. I looked over at Klaus more in the car as he drove down the streets. "I'm not interested in buying anything."

"Why can't I shower the mother of my child with elegant gifts?" He asked.

"Remember the last time you tried to shower me with elegant gifts?" I asked. "I got mad at you because you spent so much money."

"Hey, you were worth it," he said as he took a sudden sharp turn, and I finally looked out the window properly to see that we were heading down the familiar path to the bayou.

"Why are we going to the bayou?" I asked as I lowered the window and stuck my head out of it. I fought the urge to laugh at the thought of sticking my tongue out like a dog (since I was now technically part dog) but I restrained myself.

"Since you seem intent on slaughtering your witch family, we are going to find your werewolf family," He answered.

I shook my head. "There's no point. They're not in the bayou. I don't know _where _they are."

"Come on, love," He said, and my heart did a weird little stutter at the way he called me "love". "Have a little faith."

We got out of the car and had to walk the rest of the way to our old werewolf encampments, and we started looking around, Klaus intent on finding something that wasn't there.

"I told you this place was abandoned," I muttered as I crossed my arms and stopped walking.

"No, their scent is fresh. They're hiding," Klaus corrected, searching through and around the empty tents. "Which means somewhere nearby, we will find the remnants of your pack."

"And what do you propose we do if we find them?" I asked. "It's not like I'm their queen, and what's worse, we're hybrids. They actually hate hybrids more than vampires."

"What they hate is their lack of power. Hence the willingness of their brethren to deal with that witch in exchange for rings! But, she hasn't gotten to your lot yet, so, we need to get to them first and ensure they align with us," Klaus said.

I rolled my eyes, but played along. "Well the first thing we have to do then is find them and it doesn't look like they're around."

"A task I leave to you," Klaus said as he reached forward and grabbed my hand, pulling me next to him and then pushing me forward a little. "Go on!"

I turned around and gave him a look. "And what am _I_ supposed to do?"

"Well, you're a hybrid now, with heightened senses unlike anything under the sun... besides me," He smirked.

I rolled my eyes again, but indulged him once again. I closed my eyes, and took in deep breaths through my nose. I thought I caught a scent, so I sniffed deeply again, before I realized how ridiculously stupid I was acting. "This is dumb, why am I doing this?"

"Your people need a leader! You are their queen!" He insisted.

"If you wanted these peoples' queen, you should have called Hayley," I told him. "I am not their queen. I _answer_ to their queen. Besides, even if I _was_ their queen, would that really be much better for them? All I ever do is cry and kill and think about how much I miss my baby girl in my arms."

Klaus was quiet for a moment. "Do you think you're alone in that pain?"

I tilted my head to the side a little. "You miss her too?"

"Of course I do!" He answered. "I have not stopped thinking about her! When it pains me, I seek comfort in the idea of what I will do to those who would harm her."

Klaus gestured toward an overturned chair, over which what looked like a man's jacket was laying. I rolled my eyes again, but I grabbed the jacket and inhaled deeply, memorizing the scent as I closed my eyes. I dropped the jacket from my nose, and I felt Klaus put his hands on my shoulders, rubbing smooth circles on the place between my neck and shoulder blade.

"Concentrate," He soothed.

Trying to ignore the heat that I felt with Klaus's hands on my back, I lifted my chin a little and inhaled the air. I found something that I thought was the same thing, and my eyes flew open as I took off to follow the scent.

* * *

"So, Jackson is MIA and Oliver seems to think he's the Alpha. They're not going to listen to me," I said as Klaus and I observed my werewolf family packing up their things in the clearing after I found them. "Where's Hayley? She's the one that should be here." I sent her a quick text about what was going on when I was far away enough from Klaus, but I haven't received an answer yet, and I hadn't had the chance to check my phone.

Klaus scoffed. "Never mind Hayley. You're a Labonair too, aren't you?"

"My _mother_ was a Labonair," I told him. "My father was a Christos. I'm more of a Christos than I am a Labonair."

"Poppycock," Klaus said. "The birthmark on your shoulder showed up for a reason-there is werewolf blood in you. And that mark did not disappear when you became a hybrid. Go on, talk to them."

He gave me a little push forward, and I nearly lost my footing. I gave him a glare, but I nervously walked towards the werewolves, Klaus on my heels. The wolves must have caught my scent, because they turned around and defensively formed a circle around the other werewolves.

"The hell you two want?" Oliver snapped.

"Hold your tongue, or I'll tear it from your gaping mouth," Klaus growled.

I gave him a look, but I looked back towards Oliver. "Listen, Oliver, we're not here to fight. There's someone who wants to use us as their slaves, and our pack being split up isn't going to help. We need a leader. Someone who will reunite us and make us strong again. Someone who's willing to fight for our pack. And that person is Hayley."

"What?" Klaus said as he whipped his head around to me.

I gave him a look. "I may be a Labonair, but this position is Hayley's birthright, not mine. Even though she's not here, I'm willing to represent her until I can track her down and she can take her rightful place on her throne."

Oliver scoffed. "You think we can trust you? You're not one of us! Hell, you're not even a wolf, you're a blood-sucking vampire parasite!"

I let a growl slip past my lips. "Call me that again, I _dare_ you."

"You tough girl, you're gonna attack me?" Oliver said. "In front of all them? You'll just give them another reason to say yes to Cassie and her moonlight rings. Yeah, they would rather follow a witch than you. Me? Hell, I'd rather die than follow you."

Furious, Klaus vamp sped over to Oliver and knocked him flat on his back, and then stomped on his chest with his boot. "Well, at least you didn't drag this out," Klaus said.

"Klaus, let him go," I told him.

"You need to learn about the art of politics, love," Klaus said as he looked over at me. "You gain support by killing your detractors!"

"I'm not going to threaten these people to pledge their allegiance to Hayley," I said. "These people, unfortunately including Oliver, are mine and Hayley's family, so let him go before I'm forced to _make_ you."

Klaus did a sweep of the werewolves to see their reactions, before grinning and stepping off of Oliver. "You see? There's your queen. Powerful, fearless, and, unlike me, merciful." He turned to address me. "These people need to show you more respect. How you handle them now is up to you."

"Actually, that's up to _me_," Hayley said as she stepped out of the shadows and over to me. I gave her a quick one armed hug before turning over to Klaus as I saw him trying to slip away.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" I asked.

"I'm going to find the witch. Seems I need to educate her as to what she may or may not do in our city," He answered.

"_Our_ city?" I repeated.

Klaus smirked. "You might not be these people's queen, Juliet, but you have proven to me that you are worthy of being one. So, you're my Queen now. Get used to it," He finished as he turned around and vamp sped away before I could say anything.

But I couldn't help the swell of pride when Klaus called New Orleans _our_ city.

* * *

Hayley managed to convince the wolves to come back to the compound with us because they needed a place to stay. I knew they'd listen more to Hayley than me because she was a pureblooded werewolf as opposed to a hybrid.

"Take any of the rooms on the first floor," Hayley said to them as we walked into the compound. I caught Klaus and Elijah's scents when we walked in, but I waited for them to acknowledge us first.

"Are we running a kennel now?" Klaus asked as he walked over to us.

"I'll handle them," Hayley held her ground.

"Our family is under siege. It is not the time for guests," Klaus hissed.

She gave him a look. "Since when was _I_ a part of your family?" And with that, she pushed past Klaus and continued to direct the werewolves to bedrooms.

Klaus looked over at me in disbelief for an explanation. I helplessly lifted my shoulders. "It was a good idea." I sighed. "Look, Klaus. They're either allied with us or the witches and I figured that having them on our side was better than having them on the side of people with magic. You wanted us to step us, so we did."

Klaus paused, but finally gave me a smirk. "Well, it seems I'm a good influence on you after all." He looked around. "I don't see Oliver amongst them. Am I to assume you finished him off?"

I shook my head. "Hayley made a little deal with him, though the deal _was_ my idea. He'll pledge his loyalty to Cassie, report back, and tell us everything that he learns."

Klaus grinned proudly. "Well done!"

I couldn't help the little grin that crossed my face as I held his stare. "Why did you call me your Queen? I mean, I know you told me, but still. Why?"

Klaus took my hand and held it up. "Have you seen yourself, Juliet? Calling you a princess would be demeaning. You have all the power, grace, and elegance of the queen."

The words echoed in my head, and I felt my face heating up a little. "You said those same words to me the night of my prom."

He returned my smile. "And the words remain true to this day."

. He gave my hand one final squeeze before turning around and leaving. For a second, I really _felt_ the absence of his hand in mine, but I quickly shrugged it off as I turned back to the werewolves to help them find bedrooms, trying to ignore the stir of old...something.

And I didn't know if I wanted to try and explore that _something._

* * *

**TBC...**

**Hopefully next update soon!**

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	27. Every Mother's Son

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** On to the next chapter!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I crunched loudly into an apple, finding my liking of human food slowly beginning to return to me. Klaus suggested, to get Elijah off of my back about it, to just switch to blood bags for the time being, and while it wasn't as much fun as from the source, it got the job done.

There was an elaborate breakfast consisting of fruit, eggs, pancakes, bacon and more set up in the courtyard, and I wasted no time in digging in as soon as the scent of it hit my nose from all the way in my room.

I looked up when I heard the whisper of footsteps to see Klaus coming down the stairs. "Look, I know I've been a downer lately, but you could have at least invited me to this breakfast buffet," I told him.

"Trust me, love, I know how great you are at parties, but I had no hand in this," He said, confused as he stopped next to me, gesturing at the food in emphasis. "Hmm. Well, then, I guess we have Elijah to thank?"

"This wasn't my doing..." I heard, and Klaus and I turned around to see Elijah walking up behind us.

I frowned. "Then who's was it?"

The silver lid on the platter suddenly began to rattle, startling me so much that I jumped a little. I looked back over to Klaus, and he tentatively reached forward and grabbed the platter, lifting it up. Two starlings flew up toward the ceiling, causing all three of us to duck down to avoid getting hit.

"What in the entire hell was that?" I asked as I pulled myself up from under the table.

Klaus grabbed a white note from the platter and scanned it. "An invitation from our mother," Klaus said as he and Elijah stared at each other in concern.

* * *

I ran my hands along the blanket on Klaus's bed. He was standing out on the balcony overlooking the French Quarter. I heard him pacing outside, and then his footsteps started getting louder as he came into the room. "It's times like this I miss my mother. _She _wouldn't have let me get all up involved in vampire business. And she certainly would've given me a more elaborate sex talk than Aunt Jenna did."

Klaus rolled his eyes as he walked into the room. "We have enough enemies here. And now, the war for our home is to be fought against my own family."

I sat up and leaned on my elbows. "Your mother and her little minions tried to drive a dagger through our baby's heart. If you need someone to rip out her jugular while you hold her down, I'm your girl."

Klaus gave me a smile that made my heart flutter as Elijah walked into the room. I felt my cheeks flame a little when I saw him walk into the room, and I sat up fully.

"You will do no such thing," Elijah demanded. "Esther's a master in the art of possession. We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a new host."

"Well, her last invitation was an assassination attempt on all her children. I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly foul," Klaus said.

Elijah shrugged. "Well, then. We have-" a quick glance down at his watch "this afternoon to prepare for the worst."

I rolled my eyes as Elijah walked out of the room. "You know, I always used to be on his side. What happened?"

"You learned to live," Klaus said as he tapped my shoulder. He gave me a smile that I gladly returned as he left the room. I huffed and flopped back on to the bed.

* * *

Later that day, I received a text from Hayley letting me know that Esther had another witch helping her, the information courtesy of Oliver. I guess it was a good idea to let him live.

I went down to the dining room to let Klaus know the news. I frowned as I saw the place filled with obviously compelled caterers. I found Klaus talking to one of the caterers and walked over to him as he said, "Skip the salad course. Let's not make this dreadful evening any longer than it needs to be."

I took the place of the caterer as I said, "Hayley just texted me. She said that Oliver told her that Esther has a partner-in-crime, obviously another witch."

"Building alliances in her quest to destroy us, I imagine," Klaus offered.

I shook my head. "You know, I've never understood why Esther hated you so much. I mean, now that I've got my memories back, I remember that she had thrown that party where she tried off you guys all at once, but still. The woman popped out six babies. She should have some maternal attachment to her kids. I mean, I know that _I'm _pretty much dead inside because _someone_ is thousands of miles away from us."

"Seven," Klaus corrected. "In your words, she 'popped out' seven children. And, I think at one time, she loved us very much." He suddenly turned away from me, anxiously folding napkins on the table. "One died before I was born."

I lowered my head slightly. "Right, I forgot about that. You told me about it once."

Klaus nodded. "If you remember, years later, my brother Henrik was killed by the werewolves in our village. The loss of another child pushed my mother over the edge. So, she used her magic to turn us into immortals. I think that's when she loved us the most. But, it was her undoing. It triggered a sequence of events that led to the reveal of her long-held secret. My birth father was the werewolf whose pack killed my little brother. Of course, when Mikael found out, he murdered my real father, and so, my mother lost her lover, too."

"You know, hearing this all a second time doesn't make your mother any less crazier," I told him. "I just...sorta _feel_ for her. I mean, we just _sent away _Charlotte. I don't know what I'd do if she actually _died_."

I was stunned to see tears in Klaus's eyes, something that I don't think I'd ever seen before. "You know, my siblings used to tell each other she didn't hate us- she hated herself for what we've become. I think they believed that even after she tried to kill us all."

"And you?" I prompted. "You obviously felt differently. What did you think?"

Klaus shrugged a little. "I don't know. I just knew I wanted her dead."

"Wow," I said after a few seconds of silence. "That's some heavy stuff. However, hearing this story again just gives me more reason to want to crush her skull with my bare hands." I poked him in the side, trying to rise a smile out of him, which to my delight, worked. "If you're lucky, I'll let you have a turn."

* * *

"Marcel's witch is being held captive in the Quarter," Hayley updated to me, Klaus, and Elijah later that day.

"Oh, perfect. Mother's a step ahead, as usual," Klaus grumbled.

"Oliver's with her," Hayley went on.

"Good," I encouraged. "I'll go and get her to do the spell. But, I'm gonna need the necklace."

Elijah shook his head with worry. "I don't like this whatso-"

I growled as I cut him off. "Elijah, in no way am I a little girl or a human anymore, I need you to _not_ treat me like I'm made of glass. I'm not asking you to hand over a white oak stake, but I'm asking you to put enough trust in me to do something for once?"

Elijah wasn't happy, but he didn't challenge me. Instead, Klaus gave me a look that told me that he was impressed before pulling the necklace out of his pocket and handing it to me.

I saluted him. "Thank you."

I tapped Hayley on the arm (I was going to go, but I was still going to go with back up) and we turned to leave, but Elijah grabbed my arm before I could stopping me.

I was losing my patience, but I gritted my teeth and beared it. "What?:

"A disciple of Marcel's was instructed to fetch another ingredient. Ask for Gia," Elijah told me.

I nodded. "Alright," I answered, and with that, Hayley and I left.

* * *

"What's up with you and Elijah?" Hayley asked as we made our way to the crypt.

I growled, trying to calm my wolf down. I always thought the temper was just a joke, but it was all too real. "Nothing. We're just having differences. I mean, it's not like we were even really a couple. We just kissed."

"But you really liked him," She reminded me.

"Yeah, well, I _loved_ Klaus once too," I told her. "Feelings change. And now that my feelings are heightened and my baby is gone, all I want to do is try and come to terms with myself before I do anything rash."

Hayley looked at me with a strange expression. "Where did this new and mature Juliet Gilbert come from?"

"She's deciding that with great power comes great responsibility," I said.

Hayley gave me a look. "You totally stole that from Spider-Man."

I huffed. "So what if I did? Coming up with your own catchphrase is hard."

The two of us finally got to the crypt where Olive was waiting with the girl Lenore, who was still chained up. A python was wrapped around the hourglass, which was about three-fourths of the way full. I reached over and used my hybrid strength to break the chains that were binding Lenore.

"They worked her over pretty good," Oliver said.

"Let's get her out of here," I said, and I nodded over at Hayley, who came to Lenore's other side.

Oliver immediately started panicking. "Huh? Then what? They'll know that I let her go! Look, you asked me to infiltrate Cassie's coven, I'm not gonna blow my cover for some has-been hippie-witch!"

Lenore groaned and gave him a side-eyes, which made Oliver look slightly guilty. "No offense!"

Hayley and I exchanged looks before we both rolled our eyes and looked around the mausoleum.

"You got a plan?" I asked my pack leader.

"I guess we could always make it look like you got jumped?" She suggested as she gestured at Oliver. "Tell Cassie that Lenore got rescued by her people?"

"Let me guess, you, uh, wanna beat the hell out of me? Make it look convincing?" Oliver asked.

Hayley smirked. "Well, I can't say I wouldn't enjoy it!"

Oliver laughed weakly and sighed in defeat before bracing himself. "Okay, just... just not the face, okay?" He asked.

Hayley looked over at me. "Do you wanna do it?"

I shook my head. "I already beat him up once. You get the honour this time."

A little while later, Oliver was laying unconscious on the floor of the crypt, where Lenore was checking him over. The hourglass was now almost half-empty, and I was starting to feel a little twitchy. I had always hated countdowns. They made me feel like I was shrinking.

"He'll be okay, I promise," Hayley told him.

Lenore asked, confused. "What's your dog in this fight? You're not a Mikaelson."

Hayley shook her head. "I'm not." She pointed at me. "But she is."

"Hayley!" I protested. She shrugged innocent, and I crossed my arms as I said, "I'm not _really_ a Mikaelson, but I did give birth to one."

Lenore had a shocked expression on her face. "The werewolf mother?"

I made a face. "Technically the witch mother before she was put into transition and triggered her werewolf curse. And now it seems I'm a witch-rescuer, though I'm not particularly fond of the witches of New Orleans." I shook my head. "Look, can we do the spell or what?"

"After what that bitch and her lackey did to me? I'll do any spell that you want!" Lenore told me as she turned around and walked out of the crypt, Hayley and I on her heels.

* * *

Hayley and I followed Lenore back to her shop and into the back of it. I watched her with some sort of curiousity as she prepped to do the spell. The witch magic in me was starting to tingle at being around so many instruments of magic, but I shut down the feels as I cleared my throat. "Is this gonna take long?" I asked.

Lenore looked up at me from where she was setting up a small cauldron before handing Hayley the bag with the python. "You want me to soul-brand the resurrected spirit of a thousand-year-old witch? It's best I take my time and do it right."

To her credit, Lenore then looked at me with a little bit of sympathy. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. No one should ever have to lose a child."

I didn't want sympathy from people I didn't know, but I allowed it as I let some sadness creep into my voice, "You're right. No one should."

Lenore then went on to light a bundle of sage and waft the smoke around the room. "You have the talisman?" She asked.

"Yes," I responded as I dug into my pocket and pulled out the necklace. I held it out to Lenore, who grabbed it from my hands.

"So, how does this work? You brand Esther with the spell, and then what?" Hayley asked.

Lenore set the necklace on top of the cauldron so that it laid across the diameter of it while the ends hung over the rim. "The next time she jumps into a body, she'll be marked with a distinctive symbol on the back of her hand." She pulled the python out of the bag. "This way, you'll always know who she is."

I sighed. "And we still don't even know why she's here. When Esther held you captive, did she give any hints on why she was doing this?"

Lenore put the python around her neck for a moment and suddenly looked at me with a serious expression. "Love!"

I rolled my eyes. "Look, no one knows better than me that love can make you do crazy things, but please be serious."

Lenore took the python from around her neck and held it in front of her with one hand. "What besides love can inspire such pain and cruelty? And Esther?" Lenore took a knife with her free hand and sliced down the length of the snake with it before disemboweling it and squeezing the entrails in her hands, dripping the blood into the cauldron. "Her love is very, very strong."

Hayley and I exchanged looks of worry before looking back over at Lenore as she continued the spell. I felt a little grossed out, but I couldn't judge, not while I drink human blood to keep me alive.

"_Le vu ut em bu l'espirit la vu ça_," Lenore chanted. When she finished, she fell forward, leaning against the cauldron to keep her from falling on to the table. I looked at her in concern as she came to and looked around the room in confusion.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yes," She answered in a daze.

I got to my feet and walked over to her, Hayley doing the same thing, but going the other way. "You sure-?" Hayley asked.

Lenore was still leaning against the cauldron, but she managed to pull herself up and stand straight as she looked around the room. "Just getting my bearings..."

When Lenore lifted her hand from the rim of the cauldron, a brand on the back of Lenore's right hand in the shape of... something caught my eye, and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was, but once I had, I yelped as I grabbed Hayley's arm instinctively and pulled the two of us backwards.

"What is it?" Hayley asked as we stumbled backwards.

"Her hand.. the mark..." I started, and Lenore...no, _Esther_, looked down at her new body. "Esther..." I breathed.

Esther smirked in amusement as my phone began ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out as I cautiously watched Esther wash the snake's blood from her hands. I anxiously watched Esther, who simply nodded in encouragement.

"Go ahead. You can answer it," Esther said.

Weirded out, I answered the phone and was actually relieved to see that it was Elijah. "Elijah? I'm at Lenore's shop..."

I didn't get another word out as Esther thrust her arm forward and used her magic to destroy my phone and I dropped it like it was on fire.

"That'll be enough!" Esther boomed.

Hayley immediately stood in front of me as she openly glared at Esther. I had to admit, even though we were both aware that as a hybrid I was stronger than Hayley, her love for me was stronger than any power I could ever have. "They're gonna come for me."

Esther smiled. "My darling, that's been the idea all along." She smiled again as she said, "It's so lovely see you again. Tell me, do my sons ever acknowledge the good you bring into their lives? After all, it was you who gave them hope."

I eyed her suspiciously, not trusting her intentions.

"After all, you _are _the one who taught Niklaus how to love," She continued. "And then you taught Elijah that it was okay to love again. Also, the promise of a child shows us all the possibilities of a future that could be. Children are meant to save us from the worst parts of who we are. A truth that makes my own circumstances all the more tragic, wouldn't you say?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you're waiting for me to pity you, Esther, don't waste your time."

Esther looked like I offended her for a second before brushing it of. "It's a terrible thing, for a mother to fail her child."

She saw the starling necklace still laying over the cauldron and picked it up so she could look at it closely. "As you well know. But now, I offer you freedom. The gift of a new body. Freedom from being a hybrid."

Freedom? From being a hybrid? I tried not to let it show that I was interested as Esther continued.

"I have the ability to return to you all that you have lost, Juliet," Esther said. "To make it so that you could have a family of your own." She smiled. "More children of your own. Wouldn't that be nice?"

I heard footsteps distantly, and I was relieved to hear that it was Klaus and Elijah (yeah, I had memorized the pattern of their footsteps. It was both cool and creepy). When Klaus saw me standing in front of Esther, he rushed towards me, putting his hands on my arms and pulling me backwards. "I assume you've had the misfortune of speaking to my mother once again?" He asked.

Esther picked up a handful of an unidentified powdery substance and threw it towards Klaus, creating a magical barrier to keep him from coming any closer to her.

"You hide behind your spells like a coward!" Klaus howled, annoyed.

"I did not come here to wage war!" Esther retorted. She picked up another handful of the substance and threw it sideways toward Elijah, who had just tried to run toward her from behind to catch her off-guard, preventing him from coming any closer as well.

"Everything you do is an act of war. If you touch her, so help me-" Elijah started.

"Juliet and Hayley are free to go," Esther said. "I've spoken my piece, Juliet knows why I'm here. I have come to heal our family, Elijah."

"Well, that's a grand sentiment, coming from you," Klaus said. He turned back to me, squeezing my arms. "Go. Now."

I shook my head. "No, I'm not going anywhere."

"Juliet," Klaus started, but I cut him off.

"No," I hissed. "Your mother is a psycho and no way am I leaving you alone with her."

Esther threateningly exploded a light bulb with magic, causing Klaus to instinctively pull me closer to him.

"My intent was never to harm! Only to heal, as I have already healed your brothers Finn and Kol. For you, I will undo everything that has been done, thereby giving you a new life!" Esther said, and another light bulb exploded overhead. "One without the vampire curse I inflicted upon you."

Esther started waving her hand above a cauldron, and the earth began to shake, rattling all of the inventory on the shelves of the store. "Ask Juliet to share with you my loving proposition."

Klaus growled. "You're a fool if you think we'll accept anything that you offer!"

"Oh, you are wrong, Niklaus!" Esther said.

The earth continued to rumble below us as more light bulbs explodes, and Esther held her arms open wide. "There will come a time, my darlings, that you will beg for it!"

The glass in the windows shattered inward, and all of us raised our arms to cover our faces from the broken glass raining down on us. Esther lifted her arms again as hundreds of starlings burst their way through the windows and descended upon the store.

* * *

We all managed to escape and made our way back to the courtyard at the Mikaelson compound. Hayley and I explained everything to them after we got back about Esther's crazy plans.

"Of course she used those damn birds to make her offer!" Klaus growled.

"Besides the offer of rebirth, what else did she say?" Elijah cut him off.

I shrugged. "I don't know. She spewed a lot of crap. She blamed the two of you for what happened to Charlotte, to me.."

Klaus stopped his pacing to stare at me. "Well, I hope you're not thinking of taking her offer?"

I hesitated, thinking of how to put the words together. Klaus, however, took it to mean something else entirely and boomed, "JULIET! I'm talking to you!"

I growled as I got to my feet and got right up in Klaus's face. "I was just going to say that no matter how much being a hybrid sucks, no matter how much I miss my daughter, and no matter how _tempting_ the offer of having a clean slate sounds, I would never, under any _circumstance_, accept _any _sort of offer that your mother makes to me because I know how much she's hurt your family in the past, especially _you_." I looked between the two Mikaelson brothers. "Thank you so much for the vote of confidence, guys. I can see that you two clearly don't doubt who my loyalty belongs to."

With that, I stopped out of the compound and towards my bedroom.

* * *

I hugged Charlotte's little toy closer to my chest as I laid in my bed. I felt like I was fifteen years old again, crying in my bedroom because a boy I liked didn't ask me to the school dance. Of course, that was when my mother would come in and tell me that the boy wasn't worth my tears and that I would meet better boys in high school. Unfortunately, my mother wasn't here anymore. Instead, I, myself, was a mother. And I had no idea what the hell I was doing.

There was a knock on my door, and I could tell by the scent that it was Klaus. "What?" I grumbled.

He walked into the room, and I sat up, turning around to face him. "It wasn't my intention to insinuate that your loyalty was to my mother."

"Sure sounded like it," I retorted as I grumbled.

He sighed. "Juliet, you must understand. The day that Charlotte was born and that you...died, I was devastated. I felt like you and I were making real progress, and then you died. And all I saw was the lost future the two of us could have had together. And I'll admit; when I realized that you had reawakened as an immortal, I was selfish. I thought that now I had an eternity for the two of us to work through our problems and raise our child. But instead of being there for you after your transition and losing our daughter, I pulled away, because I thought that I was the last person that you needed to comfort you."

I stood up and walked towards him. "Klaus, we _both_ lost Charlotte that day. I certainly wouldn't have objected to you trying to comfort me."

Klaus hesitated, not quite looking me in the eye. "I already lost my child because of my mother. I didn't want to lose you either."

I gulped a little. "Klaus, like I told you back at the Lafayette cemetery. You can't lose me. The only person that'll outrank you is Charlotte, otherwise you and me? I'm in this for the long haul for our family. Because of how broken our own families are, I don't want Charlotte to grow up in a family that is even more broken."

Klaus managed to crack a small smile. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you."

"As you should be," I agreed, crossing my arms. A thought struck me, and I brought it up. "Hey, Klaus?"

"Yes?" He prompted

"Something that Esther said today," I started. "She said that I was the person that taught you how to love. You don't think she's right, do you?"

Klaus hesitated, seemingly not having an answer to this. "Wait, you think she's right? Come on, _I_ can't really by the person that taught you how to love. There had to have been women before me."

"There was," he agreed. " But none of them even came close to how I feel about you. The other women were like little distractions, things to keep me occupied at the moment. You?" He shook his head a little. "I used to follow you around like a lovesick puppy, awaiting at your beck and call."

"'Used to'?" I repeated. "You just came up to apologize to me, did you not?"

That made the two of us laugh, and Klaus shook his head. "Again, I apologize if I said anything that offended you."

I nodded. "Apology accepted."

With that, Klaus just kind of awkwardly stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. I jumped back into bed and grabbed my phone, intending on calling Caroline and hoping that life in Mystic Falls could distract me from life in New Orleans.

And it struck me just as Caroline answered the phone.

When Klaus was talking about the women he was with before me, he didn't use past tense.

He used present.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Dramatic, aren't we?**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next Chapter...**

_**Live and Let Die...**_

A HIDEOUT IN THE WOODS — Knowing that it's only a matter of time before Klaus comes after them, Davina takes Mikael to her family cabin in the woods. When Hayley gets a tip that Vincent (Finn) is recruiting young, unsuspecting teenagers in order to build a werewolf army, she enlists the help of Elijah and Marcel to rescue the group. After Juliet inadvertently lets Klaus in on Davina's whereabouts, she tags along in an attempt to ensure he doesn't harm Davina, and the two take a trip down memory lane to their days in Mystic Falls. At his mother's urging, Kaleb (Kol) seeks out Davina in order to locate the missing white oak stake but is caught off guard when he has a dangerous encounter at the cabin. Lastly, Josh, who continues to struggle with his vampire identity, opens up to an unexpected ally.


	28. Live and Let Die

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** On to the next chapter!

Hey, I just thought of a really good song for Klaus and Juliet at this point in the series. It's called "What About Now" by Daughtry and I've basically been listening to it on repeat while thinking about them. Give it a listen!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I loved the way New Orleans had parties. They seriously went all out, like tonight. It was Halloween, and New Orleans was throwing an All Hallows Eve party. The streets were filled with raging partygoers, exotic food, and upbeat music. Even though I missed my home in Mystic Falls, New Orleans made up for it with its craziness.

However in all the craziness, a certain petite witch had gone missing. Since losing Charlotte, I found myself becoming more protective of Davina, so I had been trying to call her for the past couple of days with no answer. She finally answered as I left one of the stores in the city. "Jeez, finally! I've been trying to get a hold of you for days. Thanks for leaving a sister hanging."

Davina sighed. "I know, I should have called you back. I didn't want you to worry. I just... things are complicated."

"Too complicated for you to just shoot me a text to let me know you aren't dead?" I asked. "Josh told me that you've practically dropped off the face of the Earth. Are you in any kind of trouble? Are you okay? Seriously, where are you?"

"I'm fine. I'll be back soon, I promise," She said. "And... thanks for calling. It's good to hear your voice."

"Dav-" I started, and I frowned when I heard the familiar tone of the call being ended.

"Well, that was rather rude!" I heard from behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Klaus.

"I guess she has a reason to be secretive," I said as I turned my body fully to face him. "Everyone seems to want her dead." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I have a rather long list of people I need to track down and deal with, and at the top of that list is a certain runaway witch," Klaus said.

I gave him a look. "You know, when people run away, it's because they don't want to be found."

"And for good reason," Klaus allowed. "Had I magically resurrected the insane, vampire-hunting father of my sworn enemy, I'd be hiding too!"

My attitude dropped. "What?"

"Oh, haven't you heard? Mikael the Destroyer, back from the dead. And, by all accounts, under the complete control of your little friend, Davina," Klaus said.

I instantly grew worried. "Klaus, I swear, I had no idea what she was up to. And even if I did want to help you, I can't. I don't know where she is. Besides, you've got hybrid hearing. She wouldn't fess up."

"Oh, on the contrary, love," Klaus started. "You just had to know how to listen. Let this be hybrid lesson number two. For instance, I heard cicadas, and I heard tans, but the real giveaway was the church bells. Did you know Davina's family owns a little cabin in Terrebonne Parish? It's been abandoned for years! But, a brief glimpse at a map showed its just a mile from the loveliest little chapel."

I looked at him suspiciously. "And your plan is...?"

"Well, the way I see it, if Davina wants to use Mikael to kill me, we just have two options. One, you reason with her. Two? Well, I don't think you'd like two very much," He smirked.

I groaned. If Klaus went to Davina without me, she'd end up in a lot of trouble. Even though she could handle herself, Klaus was still Klaus. "Alright. I pick the music, though."

"You have terrible taste!"

"Since _when_ was Taylor Swift terrible taste?"

* * *

Klaus smirked as we drove down the busy streets. "Doesn't this remind you of the good old days?" He asked.

I snorted. "What good old days? Do you mean the summer that you kidnapped me and my friend and forced us to follow you around?"

"I prefer seeing it as I gave you the summer of your life by taking you on a cross country road trip," He retorted, making me roll my eyes.

"One, no matter how much I begged, you wouldn't take me to Disney World, so I'm not going to call that a road trip. Two, I was being held against my will, and the last time I checked, that was the exact definition of kidnapping."

"Actually, the exact definition of kidnapping is taking someone away illegally by force, usually typically to obtain a ransom," He said matter-of-factly.

I gave him a look. "You have that definition pretty down, don't you?"

He shrugged. "When you're me, you have to have the logistics down."

I actually smiled a little as I looked down at my hands and then back up at the road. "So what are you gonna do? Kill Davina as soon as you see her?"

"As much as I'd love to, I highly doubt you'll allow that to happen," Klaus said. "Why do you care so much about that girl, anyways?"

I shrugged a little. "I don't know. I feel for her, I guess. Having no family, being thrust into the world of the supernatural, people you care about dying left and right." I looked over at him. "Ring a bell?"

He purposefully ignored the connection I was trying to make. "You don't have no family. You still have Elena and Jeremy and Caroline and Charlotte and my family," He said. "My family is your family."

I scoffed. "Right, like I really want to be part of a family where the mother is a crazy body jumping witch that's hell bent on putting her children into new bodies and turning them into her own personal witch dolls."

Klaus opened his mouth to argue, but just nodded his head in agreement. "Fair enough."

"So what are we gonna do about Esther?" I asked. "We can't just kill her."

"You're right, she'll just jump into another body," He growled as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "If I somehow manage to thwart that nasty little inconvenience, she'll rejoin the bloody witch ancestors and haunt me from beyond. But, right now, Mikael has the white oak stake. He needs to die first."

"You're going to go up against Mikael-not just Mikael, but Mikael with the _white oak stake_-completely empty handed?" I asked. "I want to be able to show Charlotte her Dad's real face, not just a picture while I muse over how stupid he was."

Klaus smiled and tapped his inner jacket pocket. "I've taken precautions." He nodded down at it, and I felt my face burn a little as I reached into his pocket awkwardly as he moved his head a little to keep his focus on the road. I felt around for a second, feeling my face burn all the more, before I finally pulled out Papa Tunde's blade.

"Great, just what we need," I grumbled as I relaxed against the seat. "Papa Tunde's Knife-Happy blade. I must admit, you have an impressive arsenal."

"You know, my parents dedicated their lives to making me feel weak and afraid. I've killed them once already. I can do it again," Klaus said.

I nodded at him as I slipped Papa Tunde's blade into my own inner jacket pocket, not wanting to reach over and put it back into his while he was still driving. "Well, at least you won't be doing it alone this time. I'll be with you."

He looked a little surprised as he looked over at me but while still keeping his focus on the road. "Really?"

I nodded. "I've suffered your parents wrath for too long. Either you kill them to shut them up or I will."

I spotted a bar out of the corner of my eye, and I tapped Klaus's arm. "Pull over, I need a drink."

"Why?" He asked.

"It's pretty much the only thing that's been curbing the cravings," I said as he pulled over into the parking lot. I got out of the car and went straight inside, stepping towards the bar and lifting myself on to the table.

"You know," he started as I ordered two beers. "You are nothing like the old Juliet."

I tilted my head to the side a little. "I just assumed that was a good thing. The old Juliet let people walk all over her."

"On the contrary, I think the old Juliet was braver than anyone I've ever known," He said as the bartender got us our beers. "She was brave enough to try and stand me up at my own family's ball."

I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I thought back to the Mikaelson ball that had occurred the day after Klaus and I had first slept together. "God, that was such a long time ago," I said as I threaded my fingers through my hair, resting my elbow on the bar. "I'm not going to lie, the only reason I actually came was because that dress was too cute to be left in a box."

"Right, sure," Klaus fake-agreed as he took a drag of his beer. "Do you remember it?"

I nodded. "I got all my memories back, remember? In fact, I remember the exact moment I had received my invitation."

* * *

_ I had planned on staying in bed all day long, letting the guilt over the fact that I had slept with Klaus eat away at me when I heard a knock on the front door from the kitchen. I put down the mug of tea I was going to drink in my room and walked over to the door. However when I got there, there was no one, but there _was_ a box wrapped up in a neat, red bow. _

_ I picked up the box, grabbed the mug, and went up to my room. I set the mug on my desk and tossed the box on to the bed as I undid the box. I lifted the lid off of the box, and there was an envelope with my name written on it in elegant script on top of something wrapped in tissue paper. I opened up the envelope and raised my eyebrows as I read what was on it. _

_**Please join the Mikaelson family this evening at seven o'clock for dancing, cocktails, and celebration.**_

_ That stupid ball that Elena was going to attend because Esther wanted to meet her? I had been invited? I just assumed that I wasn't going because I hadn't been invited. _

_ I flipped the invitation over and my heart skipped a beat as I read what was written on the back._

_**Your favourite colour. Save me a dance. Fondly, Klaus.**_

_ 'Fondly'? I thought to myself as I dropped the letter to the side and reached into the box, pulling away the tissue paper. He's acting like he wasn't just _fondling_ me last night._

_ I felt breathless as I grabbed the dress, pulling it out of the box. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever laid eyes on. It was a red, tube top ball gown, with diamonds forming an intricate design on the top part and the skirt being full. _

_ "Really?" I asked myself aloud._

* * *

"You were the most awkward person I had ever laid eyes on that night," Klaus said as he continued to drink from his beer. "So skittish."

* * *

_My hair sat in curls in a fancy updo as I stepped into the newly renovated Mikaelson mansion. I had black gloves on my hands that had come with the dress. At my throat sat the necklace that Klaus had gotten me when he realized that he had missed my birthday back in January. It was the only thing that I could think to wear tonight. _

_ I squared my shoulders as I straightened my back and strolled towards the dance floor. If I saw Klaus tonight, I would not react. If I saw Klaus tonight, I would not react. If I saw Klaus tonight, I would not-_

_ My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened as I caught sight of Klaus in a tux looking over at me. His face dropped into one of awe as he took my form in, and he began walking over to me. _

_ Memories of last night began flooding through my mind, and I felt my face turn as red as my dress. I immediately grabbed the skirt of my dress and lifted it up a little so that I wouldn't trip over it as I turned around and began powerwalking into the crowd, determined to get lost. I looked behind me and sighed in relief when I realized I had lost him, but when I turned back around to face in front of me, the cheeky bastard was standing right in front of me, a grin on his face as he held his hand out and said, "Care to dance?"_

* * *

"I think I had the right to be skittish," I pointed out as I pointed my bottle at him. "I had just slept with the enemy, and then he was asking me to dance."

* * *

_This dance looked fairly easy. I just had to follow the steps of everyone else, because everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. I turned towards Klaus and put on hand on his shoulder as I held his hand, Klaus's other hand going to the small of my back._

_ He smiled at me as he said, "I'm glad you came."_

_ "Well, it was either this or laying in bed all night feeling horribly guilty," I told him sharply. If I kept him at arm's length, I could get through this dance._

_ His expression changed into an even softer one. "About last night," he brought up. "It was-"_

_ "A one time thing," I cut in, looking around at the rest of the dancers to make sure that no one was paying attention to our conversation. Matt was dancing with Rebekah, Elijah was dancing with Caroline, and Elena and Damon were dancing pretty intensely so I assumed I was safe. I looked back over at Klaus, who's face looked a little crest fallen. "It was a one time thing that is never to be repeated."_

_ "And why not?" Klaus asked as we twirled, my skirt swirling. "Last I checked, we were quite good at it. I've honestly been wondering why we hadn't done it during the summer."_

_ "Because you were an insane psychopath who kidnapped me in the summer," I retorted. "You're ruthless and mainpulative and a murderer-"_

_ "That may be true, but you still slept with me," He said with a cheeky grin on his face. "Come on, admit it. Underneath that good girl act you have going on, there is a lure to darkness."_

_ I tightened my grip on his shoulders as I bit my tongue, trying not to retort. This was hardly the place to have this conversation, so I would be the bigger person and try to keep calm. "Just change the subject, please."_

_ "Fine," he agreed. "How about we talk about how ravishing you look in that dress?"_

_ I rolled my eyes at him. "I didn't even know I was coming to this thing until three hours ago. I didn't exactly have time to find a fairy godmother."_

_ "And the necklace that I gave you for your birthday?" He prompted. "What's your excuse for wearing that?"_

_ My eyes followed his gaze down to my necklace, and I bit my tongue again as I looked away from him. I could sense that he had a smug, satisfied look on his face because I wasn't able to give him a good answer other than the fact that I had just wanted to wear it. He had me, and he knew it._

* * *

"That was truly a night to remember," Klaus mused as we knocked our bottles together.

"It was one of the only good moments that we seem to have gotten," I agreed as I lifted the bottle to my lips. I tilted my head back. "You know, in moments like these, it's easy to forget who we are."

"And who are we?" Klaus prompted.

"Hybrids," I answered. "Murderers. Sad. Lonely. Hurt. Just...not human." I looked over at him and smiled. "But moments like these...real talk, a beer, a friend...these are the moments that remind me of blissful humanity can be."

"Well, I think humanity is overrated," He said.

I fiddled with my fingers. "I guess that's the one place where the two of us disagree."

Klaus nodded, letting his hand rest next to mine. Very closely next to mine, might I add. His pinkie finger brushed against mine, and I felt this weird pick up in my chest as I looked over at him, trying to decipher what he was trying to do.

"How about a dance?" He suddenly asked.

I looked around at the practically deserted bar. "But there's no music."

"That's never stopped us before," Klaus said as he hopped off of the bar stool.

I shrugged a little as I agreed, getting up and taking his hand. We positioned ourselves in the waltz format, like we were at the Mikaelson ball, and we began to sway as I thought back to the rest of the evening at the ball that night.

* * *

_ I smiled as I gazed at the horse that was outside. I had no idea why the Mikaelsons had a live horse, but it was pretty, and I needed a breather from the ball after I had finished the dance. _

_"Do you like horses?" I heard, and I looked behind me to see Klaus strolling over._

_ I wrapped my shawl tighter around me as I looked back at the horse. "I used to beg my Dad every day for a horse when I was a kid. I was too young to understand that my father couldn't actually keep a horse in our house, no matter how much I offered to clean up after it. I threw such a fit it was unbelievable."_

_ "I can actually believe that," He said as he stood next to me. "After all, you did yell at me for killing at woman after you tried to call Elena back in the summer."_

_ It brought a smile out of me as I lifted a shoulder. "What can I say? I like getting my own way."_

_ "Well, that's something the two of us have in common," He said, and when I looked over at him again, I noticed him leaning in closer to my face._

_ I instinctively took a step backwards, looking around me to see if there were any witnesses. "Whoa, what the hell are you doing?"_

_ "About to kiss you?" He said._

_ "Yeah, I know, but why?" I asked. "It's not like we're together. We just had sex once." I shook my head. "Listen, can you just tell me why you invited me here tonight? It's been bothering me all night."_

_ Klaus smiled. "I fancy you. Is that so hard to believe?"_

_ I gave him a look. "So ll those times you've threatened me, almost hurt me, and hurt the people I care about were just tokens of your affection?" I scoffed a little. "So yeah, it's hard to believe."_

_ "Is it, really?" Klaus asked as he stepped closer to me, and I fought the urge to step back. "You're beautiful, strong, confident, and determined to protect your own. Not to mention you're not afraid to tear into me. It's truly admirable." He shrugged a little. "I enjoy you. In fact, I rather enjoyed you very much last night."_

_ I nodded a little. "Well thanks. But that doesn't mean what we did last night was right." _

_ "Why couldn't it be right?" He asked. _

_ I huffed. Why was he so determined? "Because I'm me and you're...you and I just didn't think anything through when I came to you last night. Plus...you and I aren't even _friends_."_

_ "We could change that, you know," He said._

_ I didn't answer, instead looking over at the horse and stroking its beautiful neck, occasionally patting it. Being friends with Klaus didn't seem like a good idea. Being _more_ than friends with Klaus was just asking for trouble. _

_ "You know, uh, horses are the opposite of people," He started, and I looked over my shoulder at him. "They're loyal." He chuckled ruefully as I stepped back from the horse and let him continue. "My father hunted me for a thousand years and the closest he ever came was the day he killed my favourite horse. He severed its neck with his sword as a warning."_

_ I shook my head a little as I furrowed my eyebrows. "That's awful, Klaus. I'm sorry your Dad was horrible. I don't blame you for killing him. Dude was a creep."_

_ Klaus smiled, and the two of us ended up laughing. I looked at him and felt myself crumbling a little on the inside at the smile on his face, the way his blue eyes lit up. He really was cute. _

_ He stopped laughing and offered me his hand. "Can I show you something?" _

_ I hesitated as he said, "Come on. It's something that a friend would do."_

_ I gave him a look as I lifted my hand and put it in his._

* * *

I was so lost in my memory that when Klaus twirled me, and I turned around, I frowned when I saw that he was no where to be found. I went back outside and saw that the car was still there, but he was gone.

Oh, he was going to regret ditching me.

* * *

The best thing about being a hybrid was the vampire and werewolf speed combined. I picked up Klaus's trail, ditched the car because going on foot would be faster, and ran and ran until I found him and Mikael fighting in the middle of the forest.

Mikael clearly had the upper hand, as he had Klaus in a choke-hold and the white oak stake in hand. Klaus was fighting desperately to get Mikael off of him, but Mikael managed to stab him in the shoulder.

Klaus's piercing scream was the last thing I needed to kick start my brain, and I reached into my jacket for Papa Tunde's blade as I raced over to Mikael. Mikael was too focused on Klaus to notice me, so he had no way of defending himself as I stabbed him deeply in the back with the blade.

Mikael roared in pain as he dropped Klaus, who fell to the ground in a heap. I grabbed the back of Mikael's head and turned his head so that he could see who had stabbed him in the back. "Remember me?" I asked, and I kicked him in the back of the knees so that he fell down next to Klaus. The knife disappeared into Mikael's chest as he dropped.

Klaus looked from Mikael to me, and I got down to his level so I could yank the stake out of his shoulder. "On the count of three," I warned. "One-" and on one, I tore the stake out of his shoulder, prompting him to let out another scream of pain.

"What happened to two and three?" He asked.

I offered him my hand. "It's easier when you aren't expecting it."

Klaus accepted my hand as I helped him stand up. "Where did you get Papa Tunde's blade?"

"I forgot to give it back to you back at the bar," I explained, and I shoved him a little. "Which, by the way, you _ditched_ me at. Why the hell did you come after Mikael alone?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt," Klaus answered.

"Well, I think it's pretty clear that I can take care of myself _and_ of you," I smirked, but my smile dropped quickly. "Wait, where's Davina? Did you do something to her? _Right_ when I wasn't around-"

Klaus rolled his eyes at me as he cut me off. "Davina's fine. She'll wake with a spectacular headache, but given her intentions for me, she should count herself lucky."

I sighed in relief, putting my hand to my chest. "Thank God."

Klaus smirked. "'Course, if you drop dead of a heart attack, I may have to kill her on general principle."

I shoved his shoulder again. "You suck." I pointed a finger at him. "But in all seriousness, don't hurt her, okay? Because if you hurt her, I'll be forced to kill you, and I really don't want Charlotte to know that I'm the reason her father is dead."

Klaus laughed. "Duly noted. But you have my word."

I reached forward and hugged him, putting my head on his chest. He hugged me back as I said, "Thank you. I know it's hard for you to let people who've wronged you go, so thank you." I pulled back, our hands still on each other. "You're shaping up to be someone Charlotte would be proud of."

Klaus lifted an eyebrow. "_Just_ Charlotte?"

I flushed a little as I backed away from Klaus, turning my face away as I said, "Let's just say she's not your only fan."

* * *

_"So what was so important that you had to show me right now?" I asked, my hand still in Klaus's as we walked into one of the rooms in the mansion._

_ "One of my passions," He answered as we stopped in front of the paintings._

_ I smiled as I drank them in. "Oh, wow. Did you do all of these?"_

_ Klaus smiled. "Yeah, um...actually one of my landscapes is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice."_

_ "Wow," I said as I looked over at him. "I didn't know I slept with the next Michelangelo."_

_ He smirked at my comment. "Have you been?"_

_ "Apart from our little 'road trip' as you liked to call it this summer, I've never really been anywhere," I answered. "I've never been outside of America."_

_ "I'll take you," Klaus offered, and I looked over at him. "Anywhere you want. Rome, Paris...Tokyo?"_

_ That made the two of us laugh, and I said, "Well I've always wanted to eat a sushi roll from where it all started." I shifted through the little drawings that he had as I thought to somewhere I wanted to visit. "Actually, there is one place I've always wanted to go."_

_ "Where?" He prompted._

_ I shook my head at my thought as I looked back over at him. "I know it's silly, but I've always wanted to go to New Orleans."_

_ "New Orleans?" He responded._

_ I nodded. "Especially at Mardi Gras."_

_ "Are you religious?" He asked._

_ I shook my head. "Not particularly, but I want to go for the party. New Orleans sounds like such a lively city. With everything that's been going on lately, I want nothing more than to leave Mystic Falls behind and party all night long, and there is no better place to do it than New Orleans during Mardi Gras."_

_ "I'll take you, then," Klaus said as he reached over and took my hand before I could stop him. "Whenever you want."_

_ I swallowed the bulge in my throat as I tore my hand away from him. "Say I believed you. Why me? Why are you so intent on showing _me_ the world? Again, we aren't friends, and we've only slept together once-and trust me, I'm pretty determined to keep that number at one. So why me?"_

_ Klaus didn't hesitate as he looked at me intensely. "Because you were the first person to look at me as a person first and a monster second."_

Oh,_ a little voice in my head said. I shook my head a little. "You know, it's weird. One second I think I've got you all figured out, and then the next you blow my mind. It's like...you try to understand people, but you're no good at doing it, so you resort to trying to buy them off." I gestured down at my dress, and the necklace, both gifts from him. "But then you say something like that and it makes me think that there is a real genuine person inside that deserves a chance."_

_ "And? Does he?" He prompted._

_ I took a deep breath as I looked down at my hands. "I...I don't know yet," I finally allowed, looking over at him. I felt awful at the look on his face. He looked so full of hope at first, but then his face dropped when I told him my answer. _

_ I think it was time for me to go. "I'm sorry," I offered weakly. "Maybe I should go."_

_ "Maybe you should," He agreed._

_ I nodded, picking up my skirt and turning around. The only sound in the room was the click clacking of my heels as I left the room. I stopped at the door and looked over my shoulders at Klaus, who was watching me go. _

_ The emotional part of me wanted to go back to him, to comfort him, but the rational part of me, the part that reminded me of who he was and what I would be getting myself into, made me turn around and walk out the door._

* * *

**TBC...**

**I loved writing the Kluliet flashbacks!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**Red Door...**_

**'THE VAMPIRE DIARIES' NINA DOBREV APPEARS IN FLASHBACKS AS TATIA, THE ORIGINAL DOPPELGÄNGER** — In order to show Elijah that her plan is what's best for him, Esther forces him to relive a time long ago when he loved a young woman named Tatia. With the help of Marcel, Hayley goes on a mission to find Elijah but is torn when she finds out Juliet needs her as well. Elsewhere, Juliet finds herself in a dangerous situation when Mikael takes her hostage as a way to lure Klaus to him, and Davina makes an upsetting discovery about Kaleb's true identity. Lastly, a violent confrontation ensues when Klaus comes face-to-face with Mikael.


	29. Red Door

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Let's do this!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I think we should take her to the hospital," I suggested to Klaus and the boy that Davina was with at her family's cabin, Kaleb.

"Oh. Hello, darling," Kaleb said, and I looked over to see him talking to Klaus, who was standing in the middle of the doorway holding the white oak stake. "Back to huff and puff and blow the house down?"

Klaus frowned, unasumed. "You know, it's funny how often a person's sharp tongue can end up cutting their own throat."

"Klaus," I said in a warning tone. "Back off."

Kaleb nodded. "You know, she's right. You know, you may want to try a bit of lavender under your pillow. Does wonders for stuck-up pillocks with anger issues."

I groaned as I turned to Kaleb. "You, shut up! Just because I told Klaus not to cut your throat doesn't mean that I won't do as soon as you get on to my last nerve, and trust me, my nerves have been in very short supply as of late."

"I promised not to kill Davina. I said nothing of this insolent sod," Klaus reminded me.

I rolled my eyes as I stood up and went over to Klaus, grabbing him by the shoulder as I led him away from the house. "Come on," I said to him.

"I know we came here to kill Mikael, but I said nothing about that kid," I told him, putting my hands on my hips. "Now, you listen to me. We're going to put Mikael into the trunk, we're going to put Davina in that car, let that kid Kaleb sit in the car beside Davina, you are going to get into the passenger seat, and I'm going to drive us all to the hospital, understood?" I held out my hand. "Keys, now."

Klaus looked a little annoyed, but he smirked as he held up the keys. "Alright, you can have them, as long as you can reach them."

I gave him a look. "Klaus, do I really look like I want to do this?"

"Come on, if you want the keys, just reach up and grab them," Klaus teased as he held them up a little higher.

I growled, but I reached over to grab them. Immediately, he held them up higher and continued to raise them higher until he was on his tip toes and I was practically jumping to grab them. "Klaus, this isn't funny!" I insisted as I jumped.

"On the contrary, this is hilarious," Klaus laughed as I continued to try to reach them.

In a desperate, split decision move, I lowered my arms and instead wrapped them around Klaus, tackling him to the ground.

The move took him by surprise, that was for sure. And since he was on his tip toes, he wasn't balanced properly either, so he went backwards as I landed on top of him. The keys landed a bit behind him, and my hands were on either side of his head as I laid down on top of him.

We both kind of looked at each other awkwardly, the tips of Klaus's ears actually turning a little red. The fact that I could make Klaus blush made _me_ blush, and I finally tore my gaze away from Klaus as I reached my arm over his head (my face burning when I realized I practically smashed my boobs against his cheek) before quickly grabbing the keys and sitting up.

I cleared my throat as I held up the keys. "I'm going to go get the car. If I come back and either one of those kids are dead, you'll be next."

I quickly scrambled to my feet and didn't look at Klaus as I began walking back to where the car was.

Holy crap, that was intense. I didn't expect that to happen. I adjusted my hair so that they covered the back of my neck that was turning red by the second. Klaus and I had been getting along recently again, but we hadn't been _that_ close.

I was so distracted over what happened with Klaus that I didn't notice the footsteps coming up from behind me until it was too late. There were two callused hands on the sides of my head and before I could scream for help, my head was quickly twisted to the side, and a snapping sound in my neck was the last thing I heard as I fell backwards into my assailant's arms and died.

* * *

When I came to, my neck was throbbing and my entire body ached. I blinked hard and moaned in pain. The pain was the worst in my neck, but the magic of my hybrid body was quickly working away at healing it. I felt myself being jostled, and I was staring at the ground. It didn't take me very long to realize that I was in a fireman's carry. There was a hand on my back and another hand on the back of my legs as I was being carried.

"Finally awake?" A familiar voice said, and I groaned when I realized that the person who had kidnapped me was Mikael.

My body felt like it was made of lead. "What's wrong with me?" I moaned as I felt the overwhelming urge to throw up.

"I shoved vervain down your throat," Mikael answered simply. "It was meant for Niklaus, but this works too."

"Klaus," I mumbled. "He'll...he'll find you. And when he does, he'll kill you. And as soon as I have my strength back, I'll help."

"Oh, he will. But, I will be ready," Mikael said.

"How did you fight off the pain of Papa Tunde's blade?" I wondered aloud.

"I have fought more pain than anyone, living or dead," Mikael responded. "But, once I feed, I shall be restored."

Uh oh. Mikael was the vampire who drank vampire blood. I know I was half werewolf, but I was also half vampire. Who knows what Mikael could do. I tried my best to fight against the vervain in my system, and I wiggled against Mikael in an attempt to get out of his old.

Annoyance laced Mikael's tone as he said, "Not you. You, my dear, are leverage. Once I threaten to dismember you in front of him, Klaus will hesitate. And, in that moment of weakness, I shall end him."

"You are crazy!" I tried to hit him on the back. "You two really need to let it go! I _know_ why you hate him, I _know_ why he hates you, and I _know_ why you two want to kill each other, but just let it _go_! Just because Klaus is another man's child does _not_ give you the right to treat him horribly! My father, Grayson Gilbert, was not my father, but he still loved me like I was his real daughter. Why can't you just do the same with Klaus?"

Mikael suddenly put me down and grabbed my arms, squeezing them tightly to the point where they would nearly break, but they didn't. "Hush! I do not have to listen to your and your spewing idiocy!" Mikael looked up and down at me in disgust. "I haven't the faintest clue why a person like you would fall in love with a person like _him_."

"I wouldn't expect _you _to know the answer to that," I spat.

All of a sudden, the sound of music made it to my hybrid ears, and I could tell that the music had made it to the vampire ears of Mikael. "I hear music," He said happily. "And, where there's music, there's food."

He must have shoved a lot of vervain down my throat, because I was still pretty much a rag doll as he grabbed me by the arm and began dragging me through the woods. There were a dozen or so humans wearing various Halloween masks and partying around a large bonfire.

"Well, well, well, well... What have we here?" Mikael said. "Hillbilly Halloween. Oh, perfect."

* * *

After Mikael devoured the entire group of partygoers, he dragged me to an abandoned building. I guess because this was my first time ingesting vervain, I wasn't able to fight it off very well, but it was getting a little better when we got there.

"You know, once I believed that there was good in everyone, but you made me believe that there _isn't_," I hissed. "But didn't you at least care about Klaus once?"

Mikael threw me down, and I groaned when my head made contact with the ground. "I know why you hated him, but I never understood the extent," I moaned, and I lifted my head to look at him. "What was with your hatred?"

"I didn't always hate him," Mikael started. "When Klaus was born, I was overjoyed. I thought, 'This one- this one has the eyes of a warrior. He will be worthy.' But, my hope was short-lived. And, when I found out that he wasn't really my son, my relief was _glorious_. But, that passed with the knowledge that he was begat of a beast."

"Your wife being a cheap floozy wasn't Klaus's fault!" I retorted.

"Everything that followed was because of Niklaus' obsession with the wolves!" Mikael bellowed. "He ventured out to watch them turn under the full moon, and he took my youngest son, Henrik. He was but a child, and he was torn apart."

"Henrik's death wasn't Klaus's fault!" I defended. "It was just an accident!"

"An accident?" Mikael blasted. "AN ACCIDENT? HE MURDERED MY WIFE! HIS OWN MOTHER! Who sought to cleanse him of his beast-like nature! He betrayed me. He turned my entire family against me! And yet, you defend him?"

I managed to get to my feet. "I defend him _because_ he is my family! When I had no one, Klaus was there for me! I'll admit it, he isn't the greatest person on the planet, but he _tries_. Which is more than can be said for you!" I took a few steps towards Mikael, and even though I was scared out of my wits, I was angry too. "After _centuries_ of bloodshed and anger why can't you just let it _go_?! Klaus isn't your son, he officially isn't your responsibility, so why do you keep trying to kill him?"

Mikael looked like he was crying, but to my surprise, he was laughing. "You must truly be in love with him, to defend him so. Him, a monster. Him, who will amount to nothing. Him, who is an abomination."

I stared straight ahead at Mikael as I said, "Maybe if you looked closer at Klaus, you'd realize that the two of you have more in common than you think."

Mikael glared at my statement and before I could do anything, he reached forward, grabbed my neck and snapped it again, sending me plunging back into the dark abyss of death.

* * *

When I came to this time, I was basically swaying on my feet in Mikael's arms. My neck ached once more, and there was an unbearable pain in my chest. I looked behind me to see that Mikael's hand was shoved into my back and his fingers were clenched around my heart. Once wrong move and Mikael would end me for good.

I faintly heard footsteps, and I dizzily opened my eyes and felt my heart soar when I saw Klaus. Granted, he looked extremely furious, but he was here. He held a handmade stake in his hand and lifted it so that it was pointing threateningly at Mikael.

"You're gonna pay for hurting her," Klaus growled.

Mikael gave him a look as he extracted his hand from my chest, but without my heart in his hand. I gasped deeply in relief as he dropped me to the ground. I groaned in pain once again as soon as my head made contact with the ground, but this time it was mind numbing because my broken neck hadn't fully healed. The open wound in my chest hadn't begun to close yet either due to the vervain slowing my healing down.

"Aw, how sweet. The cur whines for its bitch," Mikael mocked. He held Papa Tunde's blade in one hand and the white oak stake in the other. "I'll be sure to rip her heart out and feed it to her just before you burn."

Furious, Klaus leaped a dozen feet into the air and lunged at him with his makeshift stake. He tackled Mikael, but they both quickly rose to their feet. Mikael then pinned him against the wall and was struggling to stake Klaus in the chest.

Just as Klaus was about to be staked by Mikael, he fought back by kneeing Mikael in the gut and the face before the two began to fight again. Klaus then tackled him, and the two busted through a concrete and brick wall into the next room.

The wound in my back finally closed up as the last of the vervain finally made its way out of my system. Klaus and Mikael continued to fight as I got shakily to my feet. I felt like I was gonna fall over, but I managed to stay on my feet.

Unfortunately, just as I had gotten to my feet, I heard a whizzing in the air and looked up to see the tip of Papa Tunde's blade soaring through the air in the direction of my chest. You know the expression "stood there like a deer caught in headlights"? That was exactly how I felt. I couldn't think. I couldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to try and lift my hands to grab the blade before it entered my body.

Luckily, I heard another _whooshing _sound, and Klaus was suddenly in front of me, the handle of Papa Tunde's blade in his hands as he kept it from stabbing me. My heart calmed down as I turned to Klaus but instead of saying something, I screamed at the sudden movement behind him. In the moment of standing there, the two of us had forgotten about Mikael. "KLAUS, LOOK OUT!" I shrieked and before I could move him out of the way and take the stake myself, Mikael stabbed him.

Klaus shrieked in pain and fell to the floor as Mikael smirked, and when I tried to drop down next to Klaus to try and do something, Mikael lifted his arm to push me away from him. I saw the move coming though, so I blocked his move with my hand. I dug my nails into his skin as I lifted my leg and kicked him square in the chest. My hybrid strength seemed to be enough against an Original, and it caused Mikael to go flying backwards and into the wall.

I dropped down next to Klaus and took his face in my hands. "Hey, hey," I said, but there was no response. But to my surprise, nothing was happening to Klaus. He just laid there with the stake in his chest.

It seemed to baffle Mikael as well, because he had recovered from my blow quickly and had stood up. "Why aren't you burning?" He growled. "If you were dead, it would burn. BURN!"

Mikael suddenly tilted his head to the side and vamp sped out of the room. As soon as he was gone, I put Klaus's head nack down on the ground and crawled towards his chest. I wrapped my hands around the white oak stake and with one swift tug, I pulled the stake out of his chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard Mikael ask, and I turned around to see that his mouth was covered in fresh blood.

Determined, I got to my feet and stood in front of Klaus, holding the stake out threateningly towards him. "If you take one more step, I swear to God I'll kill you. It'll be a shame too, because I promised you to Klaus and he promised Esther to me, and I'd rather kill Esther."

Mikael seemed the slightest bit impressed. "You have a warrior's heart. Perhaps I'll keep it as a souvenir."

Just as Mikael power walked towards me and I brought my arm back to stab him with the stake, out of nowhere, Marcel appeared and pulled Mikael away from me. He started hitting Mikael over and over quickly that he was too disoriented to fight back right away. Mikael eventually knocked Marcel flat on his back and grabbed Klaus' makeshift stake to point it at Marcel's heart.

"Now, ENOUGH!" Mikael roared. "This night has been a long parade of fools. I'll enjoy killing every last one of you."

Klaus suddenly awoke with a gasp, and I felt relief flood through me as I leaned down to help him stand up. As soon as I did, I turned around to help Marcel, but it seemed like someone had beat me to it.

Hayley threw a chain around Mikael's neck and yanked on it so hard it knocked him off of his feet. "Yeah, I wouldn't bet on it," She said, and she hit him in the face with the chain. She dropped the chain as she and Marcel came over to stand next to me and Klaus, and we were eventually joined by Davina. She glanced at me, and I nodded to let her know I was okay before she turned around and faced Mikael again.

Klaus smirked. "It's over, Mikael. You're outnumbered. Are you going to beg for your miserable life?"

Mikael laughed. "You think having people makes you strong? It proves how weak you are. Come find me when you don't have fools, women and children fighting your battles." He threw the scrap of wood at us and vamp sped out of the building. We all immediately deflated with relief.

Davina left the room, and Hayley and Marcel both went off to check the perimeter for Mikael, and I was left alone with Klaus.

"He had his hand on your heart," Klaus said to me after I insisted I was okay. "You can't just be _okay_."

"He stabbed _you_ with the only thing that can kill you," I reminded him, my eyes flickering down to the wound that still hadn't closed up yet.

Klaus winced slightly but gave me a grateful smile. "You pulled the stake out in the nick of time. A moment longer, and I would have been done for."

I returned his smile. "Well I couldn't just let you die. That would have made me just as bad as him. And Klaus," I paused. "I know people tell you that you're like him, but trust me, you're not." Klaus's eyes filled with what looked like a little bit of hope. "You're better than him, and you always will be." I put my hand over his wound, and he gingerly put his hand on top of mine. "I'm sorry that we didn't kill him when we had the chance."

"Well, he hurt you. For that alone, I will kill him," Klaus assured me.

"You're gonna have to get in line," I told him, and he smirked.

He suddenly looked thoughtful. "You know, in a thousand years, I think it's the first time I've seen him run."

"He was weak," I offered.

"And, he knew he was outmatched," Hayley finished as she walked into the room with Marcel, having caught the last bit of our conversation.

"We checked the perimeter, and he's definitely gone," Marcel informed us.

Klaus sighed. "I appreciate your assistance."

"Well, hey! You die, I die. Just call me selfish," Marcel joked.

"Yeah, you die, a lot of people die," Hayley interrupted. "But Klaus? We have another problem..."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Next chapter hopefully to follow soon!**

* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**Wheel Inside the Wheel...**_

A FAMILY BUILT ON SECRETS AND LIES — Fed up with her antics, Klaus becomes agitated and demands that Esther release Elijah, whom she has captured. However, Esther reveals a few dark secrets from Klaus' past in an attempt to make him an offer he can't refuse. Meanwhile, Oliver ends up in a dangerous situation, prompting Juliet to convince Hayley to reconnect with Jackson, who has been living a new life out in the bayou. Elsewhere, Cami, who still believes baby Charlotte's death was her fault, teams up with Marcel and Gia after she becomes suspicious of her faculty adviser Vincent. Lastly, in a surprising turn of events, Klaus comes face-to-face with a visitor from his past.


	30. Wheel Inside the Wheel

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the gap!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I was standing on the balcony of Charlotte's nursery, staring out into the French Quarter. I found myself doing this a lot, but I was contemplating how messy my life had become.

First I had a baby, then my baby was sent away, then I turned into a hybrid. A bunch of screwed up months later, the grandmother of my child was back and hell bent on ruining our lives. According to Hayley, Elijah was missing, and it could only be Esther that took him. That was the little problem that she had told us when we defeated Mikael (for the time being, at least).

The sounds of tortured screaming broke me out of my train of thought, and I pushed myself off of the bar of the balcony and back inside the house. I heard Klaus stepping into his bedroom, so I followed him. When I got there, he had blood splattered all over his face and his hands, and he was washing it all off in the sink.

I gestured to him. "Can I take this to mean that your interrogation went well?"

"Eh, it turns out these witches are delicate creatures," Klaus said as he looked himself in the mirror, washing up. "No matter! I suspected my mother had Elijah captive."

I nodded. "Super. I'll wait in the car," I said, and when I turned around to walk out of his room, Klaus grabbed my arm, stopping me. I turned around to face him. "What?"

Klaus shook his head. "Esther is too powerful. She won't be easily found. I need to draw her out."

He tried to shut the sliding doors that separated his room from the nursery, but I stuck my hands in between the doors. "Hang on, I know you better than this Klaus Mikaelson." I crossed my arms. "You're going after Elijah alone, aren't you?"

Klaus smiled patronizingly at me as he said, "Well, I'm going to change my shirt first."

He tried closing the doors again, but I stopped him once again. "Klaus, that's not fair! I'm coming with you!"

Klaus sighed deeply and walked towards me again. "I know you want to help, Jules, but you can't. My mother is wretched. She will target you in order to thwart me, and I can't very well save Elijah if I'm busy saving you, can I?"

"I can save myself," I reminded him. "I'm not poor, defenceless Juliet Gilbert anymore, remember? Besides, this is _Elijah, _Klaus. I _have _to help."

Klaus put his hands on either side of my face, making me cut myself off. "I know you can, and I admire you for that. But while you're strong, Esther's stronger. And I won't be able to handle it if something happens to you, all right?"

His words left me speechles, but I backed away as he let his hands drop from my face, my hands hugged to the middle of my chest. I turned around, looking away from him, and after a few seconds, I heard the sliding doors shut.

Just as they did, my phone rang, and I gladly welcomed the distraction. "Hello?"

"Hey, I need your help," Hayley said, and it sounded like she was driving based off of the traffic noises in the background.

"Of course, what's up?" I told her automatically.

"Meet me at Marcel's apartment," she replied. "We're gonna need more help."

* * *

I used hybrid speed instead of a car, and when I got there, Hayley had just pulled up. The two of us then went to Marcel's apartment, where that girl Gia was finishing up her conversation with Marcel.

"I did like you said- I kept a low profile, went all over the city. There's no sign of Elijah anywhere," Gia said.

"Yeah, the humans I know said the same thing," Marcel mused. "Maybe Klaus is having better luck?"

"No, he's not," I interrupted as Hayley and I strolled in.

"Listen, you two up for a rescue mission?" Hayley asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Are we going after Elijah?" Gia perked up, and I couldn't help but feel a small bite of jealousy at her eagerness to help the Original.

"No," I told her. "If Klaus won't let me help, he sure as hell wouldn't let someone like you help."

Gia looked stung by my words, but Hayley came to the rescue as she said, "I'm talking about Oliver. Now, he and Elijah were fighting the werewolves together. I've heard that Oliver's been captured and is about to be executed. Now, look- if we can save Oliver, then we might be able to find out where Elijah is."

"Okay, so what do you want from us?" Marcel wondered.

"Just a little distraction," Hayley told him. "Esther's son, Finn, he's the one that's controlling the werewolves. If you can keep him out of the way, Jules and I can go get Ollie ourselves."

Hayley grabbed my hand and turned to leave, but Marcel vamp-sped around her and blocked our way. "You can't take on all those wolves by yourself. You'll get killed, and then I'll get killed for letting it happen."

Hayley sighed. "I'm not going in alone. I've got Jules with me."

"Besides, the werewolves may be answering to the witches, but they still have an Alpha," I reminded us all. "We just have to find him."

* * *

"Did you have to bring up Jackson like that?" Hayley asked as we stomped through a more remote part of the Bayou.

"Yes, I did," I told her. "We need to find Jackson to get the rest of the wolves out from Esther's control. Jackson may be my friend, but he's _your_ boyfriend."

"We weren't exclusive," she defended, and I gave her a look.

"Oh please, the boy's head over heels for you," I said. "If he's going to listen to anyone, it's gonna be you."

"And what about you, huh?" She started. "I've seen you and Klaus getting closer, but when Gia mentioned Elijah today, you looked really to rip out her jugular. You and Elijah have been kind of a thing, but now you're getting all chummy with Klaus."

This was _so_ not what I needed right now. I preferred to live in denial. "It's complicated," I eventually said as I eyed a nearby trailer warily, straining to hear or smell someone inside.

Before Hayley had the chance to respond, I heard a creaking sound behind me, and I spun around just in time to catch two arrows in midair that were sailing towards mine and Hayley's heads.

I growled as I dropped the arrows down to the ground. "Amateurs," I spat. "If you're planning on killing a hybrid, you're gonna have to do a lot better than that."

The man who shot at us walked toward us, pulling a shortsword out of its sheath with his free hand. His bow was clutched in the other, and he had a quiver of arrows strapped on his back.

I slid my foot back and curled my lips into a snarl, letting my werewolf eyes show as I prepared to lunge for throat in case he tried something, when we were both interrupted by a gruff voice.

"Stop!" the familiar voice called, and Hayley, the man and I all turned at the sound of the voice.

Jackson Kenner walked out of the trailer, and I immediately let my werewolf face go away as I burst into a smile. "Jackson?"

"Jackson?" Hayley repeated.

"Jules," Jackson nodded at me. "Hayley. I see you met my friend Ansel," he said, gesturing to the guy.

"You know her?" Ansel asked in confusion.

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, actually. I do. Hayley was supposed to be my wife, and Julie's her cousin."

* * *

Jackson set up a fire pit by his trailer, and we all sat in chairs around a fire pit while Ansel sat on a log across from us and sharpened his knife.

"After Francesca Guerrera took over the wolves, she offered me a moonlight ring as long as I'd call her Alpha," Jackson explained. "I declined. So, a couple of her brothers dragged me out here and left me for dead. By the time I healed up, word had spread about what happened to you, and to your baby," He directed that last part towards me.

I bit my lip and examined my nails, feeling the sting of Charlotte's absence again, but also feeling a small stab of guilt because I liked Jackson, and he didn't know that Charlotte was still alive.

"So, I knew it was over, and I just drifted," Jackson went on. "And that's when I met Ansel. See, he's been teaching me the old ways, the traditions. What it means to be a wolf."

Hayley scoffed. "You mean by living out in the ass-end of nowhere?"

I laughed at her voice, tapping her on the arm. "Nice one."

Ansel made a noise of annoyment, and I glared at him as Jackson said, "Hey, easy. Your kind makes him ornery."

I scowled. "My kind? Jackson, no matter what, I'm with the wolves. The wolves were the ones that took care of me and didn't try to kill my baby when she was still in me. They're still my people even though they pledged allegiance to my other, lesser liked people. They just need an Alpha. Oliver needs one, too."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Jackson gruffed. "The thing is, Ollie betrayed me. He plotted with the Guerreras. He spilled his own people's blood."

Hayley sighed. "He was trying to make up for that."

"It doesn't matter. Witches have him- he's dead. Not that I care," Jackson muttered.

"You don't want to be the Alpha?" Hayley asked, and when she didn't get a response, she growled. "Fine. We'll just save Ollie ourselves. C'mon, Jules," she said, and I stood up to follow her.

Ansel had started packing up his bow and quiver and stood up to walk over to us as we tried to leave. "Hey, you got a problem, old man?" Hayley snarled.

"I have no love of vampires, but I will not allow a wolves to be killed by witches," Ansel responded.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise as Ansel brushed past me to head for the Quarter. Hayley and I turned around to face Jackson.

Hayley shot him a look. "At least someone is interested," she said, and she turned around to stomp after Ansel.

I kept my eyes on Jackson, waiting to hear Hayley's footsteps get a little fainter. "Just give her a couple minutes to cool down," I advised Jackson once I was sure she was out of earshot, and with that, I vamp sped after Hayley.

* * *

"_Tell me you have your Alpha_," I heard Marcel request over his phone call with Hayley.

"He's out of commission, but I got the next best thing," she responded. "I'm assuming you have a plan to keep Finn occupied?"

I didn't miss the look Ansel gave Hayley at the sound of Finn's name, but I pretended to ignore it as I listened for Marcel's answer. "_Yeah... Yeah, I think I might have an idea,_" Marcel responded, and he just hung on up, leaving Hayley and I befuddled. We exchanged strange looks, but we just kept walking on in silence with Ansel.

We reached the Lafayette Cemetery, where we slowly made our way through the foggy paths as we tried to find Oliver. We made it to the lycée and walked up the steps to enter. Inside, we found a bloodied Oliver suspended by his wrists in the greenhouse. "Ollie!" Hayley said as we ran over to Oliver.

I tapped him on the face, trying to rouse him. "Ollie, wake up!" I tried.

He groaned, obviously weakened, but stirred. "The hell are you doing?" he grumbled, and after he caught sight of Ansel, asked, "Who the hell is that?"

"We're here to save your ass," Hayley told him.

"Please tell me you know where Elijah is?" I asked him.

Oliver weakly shook his head, and Ansel went over to the window to look outside. "They know we're here," Ansel alerted us.

I strained my vampire hearing to listen, and the sounds of werewolves jumping down from the crypts as they made their way to the Lycée flooded my ears. "He's right," I agreed. "We don't have time."

Hayley looked at Oliver for a moment and studied the chains that binded him. "Sorry. No time to be gentle."

Hayley reached up and yanked on the chains, and when they broke, Oliver fell to the floor. Hayley and I quickly bent down and each grabbed one arm. "Let's go."

Hayley and I helped Oliver up in the greenhouse of the Lycée while Ansel prepared his quiver. Oliver, who was still weak and exhausted, looked at Hayley and I anxiously. "Just leave me here. Go!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like I'm gonna let that happen," I retorted.

"Jules' is right," Hayley added. "They want a fight, we'll give them a fight."

"No," Ansel said, and he walked over to us. "I came with you to save one of my own, not watch as you kill scores of them. Take your friend out the back, move as fast as you can. I'll hold them off here."

Hayley looked over to me, asking if I wanted to go with Ansel's plan, and when I realized that we really had no other plan, I nodded. The two of supported Oliver better. "Come on. Quickly," I said as we helped lead Oliver out the back of the Lycée as more werewolves flooded the cemetery, all headed for the building.

Oliver decided he needed to take a rest (I didn't know why though, Hayley and I were doing all the work), but we complied as we ducked down behind a crypt. Suddenly, footsteps of a big group of people were on the other side of the crypt, and a new voice called out, "Come out! We know you're here."

Hayley and I exchanged looks, before she looked over at Oliver, who I was supporting as he braced himself against the wall. Hayley took a deep breath before turning and running out into the aisle to face them before I could try and stop her.

"Why don't you just let us go and we can call it a day, Aiden?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so," Aiden responded.

In an annoyed tone, Hayley said, "Then we do this the hard way."

If she was gonna fight, she was going to need help. I quickly leaned Oliver against the wall as I vamp sped out beside her. "Have fun fighting a wolf and a hybrid," I sang as I snarled.

We all braced ourselves to fight, but Oliver came out from behind the crypt and staggered over to Hayley and I before anyone could move. "You idiots! You're lining up to fight a hybrid? For what? So you can kill me? All because some witch gave an order? I know I ain't innocent, but I never lost sight of what I was fighting for! We were gonna be a pack! But now?" He took a step towards them. "We're turning on each other! Killing your own people? We do that, we're nothing."

Oliver, Hayley and I tensed in case we started a fight, but Aiden waited a moment before clearing a path so we could leave without having to fight. We gave him a grateful smile before I just reached down and picked up Oliver with my hybrid strength, earning me comments about his masculinity. I ignored them, and I grabbed Hayley's wrist as I vamp sped us all out of there.

* * *

We took Oliver back to Jackson's trailer, the only place that Oliver would be safe. Even though Jackson was mad at Oliver, I knew he couldn't stay mad at him for too long.

Jackson started another fire as Hayley and I did our best to clean up Oliver. "Well, you got him. Great. Where's Ansel?" Jack growled.

"He was busy being a man," Hayley responded without looking at him. "He should be right behind us."

"Jack, I have to tell you-" Oliver started.

Jackson cut him off. "I already know, Ollie- you sold me out to Francesca."

"Look, I know that I can't make up for that. But, you need to hear this," Oliver insisted. "You're the one."

Oliver struggled to get to his feet, and Jackson stood defensively, grabbing a nearby staff to use if he had to. Not that Ollie would put up much of a fight.

"You're the Alpha. Our people are not meant to be slaves! You can free them," Oliver continued.

All of a sudden, Oliver cut himself off as he started coughing up blood. He fell to his knees as it dribbled past his lips.

"Ollie? Ollie?" Jackson asked in concern. He grabbed Oliver as he turned to us. "What is wrong with him?"

"It's the witches," Hayley realized in horror.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I crouched down next to Jackson and Ollie.

"Ollie?" Jackson tried.

"They said he only had until midnight..." Hayley breathed.

Jackson propped Oliver up in his arms to try and resuscitate me, and it killed me to watch Jackson helplessly trying to save him. Oliver wasn't the best guy, but he didn't deserve to die. "Stay with me!" He begged.

Oliver was overcome by a coughing fit and started to sputter up blood as he stared at Jackson, who was panicking.

"Jack..." Oliver spluttered, but he didn't get very far because he started bleeding from his eyes and nose as well. He took a couple more breaths, and he breathed out one final time. His chest stopped moving. He was dead.

Hayley and I were clutching each other as we watched a horrified Jackson lay him on the ground, still gripping his hand. I swiped tears off of my face, and I could feel Hayley's tears falling on my shoulders.

After a second, Hayley let go of me as she bent down and put her hands on Jackson, and he turned into Hayley as she held him and he wept.

Feeling like I was invading on a private moment, I turned on my heel and vamp sped out of the bayou.

* * *

When I got back to the compound, Klaus was bounding down the steps, and he grinned when he saw me. "I've got good news!" he proclaimed as he walked towards me.

Before he could say anything else, I put my arms under his arms and hugged myself tightly into his chest, resting my ear over his chest.

He stopped dead in his tracks and just stood there for a second, as if not sure what he was supposed to do. "What are you doing?" he asked eventually.

"Don't ask, just hug me," I said. "Stress levels are brought down by physical contact." I peeked up at him long enough to say, "I saw it on Grey's Anatomy." I lowered my head back and snuggled my face back into his chest. "I'm stressed. I don't want to talk about it right now. I will soon, but first, just hug me."

After thirty seconds, Klaus finally put his arms around my back, pressing me to his chest as his lips brushed the top of my head. "I've got you," he reminded me.

I took a shaky breath in. "Don't die on me, okay?" I whispered.

Another thirty seconds pause. Then, "I won't."

"You promise?" I asked as I turned my head so that my face was buried in his chest, breathing in his familair Klaus smell and balling the material of his jacket into my fist as I clutched at him.

"I promise," he responded.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Alright there you go now get off my back.**

**JK!**

**Now that we're getting closer to the episode where Charlotte comes back, hopefully I'll be more motivated to write. Also, if I have so many people reading this story, maybe I could get some more reviews? Maybe?**

**Until next time!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**Chasing the Devil's Tail...**_

GOING AFTER EVERYTHING ESTHER LOVES — When Klaus discovers that Elijah has been afflicted by Esther's magic he heads to the bayou with Juliet in search of an antidote, but quickly realizes they're not alone. Armed with intel gathered by Aiden, Hayley teams up with him, Marcel, Camille and Josh and launches a plan to take down Vincent by exploiting his one weakness. Meanwhile, with Esther determined to carry out her plan, Vincent and Kaleb are forced to reconsider their own strategies. Intrigued by Davina's unwavering attempts to create an unlinking spell, Kol lets her in on some secrets from his past and brings her to a place he frequented in 1914.


	31. Chasing the Devil's Tail

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** On to the next chapter!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So we got Elijah back?" I asked Klaus as I stared at Elijah's unconscious form.

He nodded. "Yup."

"But he's...asleep?"

"Unconscious, to be specific."

"What are we gonna do?"

"We'll figure something out," Klaus confirmed. He turned from me to face his brother. "I know you are locked in battle, however deep in your mind our mother has set the stage. Hear my voice."

Elijah twitched anxiously in his sleep, but Klaus continued talking. "Our mother thinks she will win because she has left you alone, but you are not alone. Let me in."

"No offense, but what is a pep talk supposed to do?" I asked him.

"Exactly that," Klaus replied. "It's supposed to motivate him to wake up." He laid one hand on Elijah's head and the other on his chest, hoping to gain entry into his mind.

Unfortunately, all that did was make Elijah's body go rigid as though he'd been shocked and his muscles started seizing and spasming.

"Let me help end whatever torment she has forced upon you," He said, and Klaus's nose began to bleed. He started groaning in pain, and before it could go any further, I reached forward and grabbed Klaus's arm, ripping him off of Elijah.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded as I pulled my sleeve over my hand and wiped away the blood on Klaus's upper lip.

He panted in an attempt to catch his breath as he answered, "I'm trying to enter Elijah's thoughts to wake him. Esther's locked me out."

I pulled my hand away as I inspected Elijah closer. There was some kind of petal-shaped wound on his neck that was turning red, and I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "Is that a weird side effect of the acid trip-thing he's on?" I wondered.

Klaus frowned and examined the wound more carefully. "I haven't seen this since I was a child. Mikael would return home from battle more blindly temperamental than usual, and our mother would use the petals of a rare merlock orchid to put him to sleep. She would mend his mind with a spell, and then wake him with the roots of the same plant."

He turned to face me, looking hopeful. "If she has access to it now, then maybe it also grows in the Bayou. You stay here with your wolves and mind the fort."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh_ please_. I am not someone who drives the getaway car." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm going."

"Juliet-" he started, but I cut him off.

"Listen, Hayley can handle the wolves without me," I told him. "I'll text her and tell her everything you told me. Plus, you might need some help looking for that plant. Besides, what if something like the Mikael incident happens again? Who saved you that time?" I cupped my ear, waiting for Klaus's response.

He grounded his teeth but relented. "Fine. If it makes you feel like you have a purpose," he said, tapping my nose and giving me a condescending grin.

"Thank you, it really does," I told him. I slipped my arm through his and pulled him towards the door. "Let's go before we lose the light!"

* * *

"Ughhhh," I grumbled as I stomped through the Bayou. The certain track of land that we were currently walking on was filled with mud and gross bugs. I knew I was a vampire-werewolf hybrid and that I did a lot more gross things (like drinking the blood of people) than bugs did, but still. Plus, my feet were killing me, and they kept sinking in the mud.

Klaus was walking in front of me, and I could _hear _the grin in his voice as he said, "I _told _you not to wear high heeled boots when we were supposed to go walking in the Bayou."

"And _I_ told you that these high heeled boots completed my outfit," I hissed as I gestured to the rest of my clothes. "I didn't have any shoes that matched the outfit so well."

"Sometimes comfort beats fashion," Klaus told me.

I scoffed. "When does comfort _ever_ beat fashion?" I demanded.

Before Klaus could respond, Klaus and I both picked up on the sound of a man's breathing and a heart beat. Before I could do anything, Klaus vamp-sped over to where the sound was coming from. He grabbed the source of the breathing (it was a man, but I couldn't see his face) and pinned him against a tree.

"Stop following me," Klaus hissed in the person's face, but his head was still blocking the man's. "I have no intention of taking Esther's bargain, and no desire to be remade a mortal being. Now, kindly piss off. I'm in a hurry to help my real family."

Klaus vamp-sped over to me and grabbed my arm to pull me away, but I looked over my shoulder at the last minute, and my jaw dropped when I recognized Ansel. "_Ansel_?" I said in disbelief.

Klaus stopped us from running, and he looked from me to Ansel. "Do you know him?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Well obviously if I just said his name," I said to him. "But how do _you _know him?"

"That man is my biological father," Klaus introduced, and my jaw dropped as I looked back over at Ansel. "Ansel, this is Juliet, though I presume you've met her already. She was the mother of our child."

"Yes, I've met her before," Ansel answered. "I just did not know that she was your wife."

"Wife?" we both repeated, and we both looked at each other awkwardly as we talked over each other. It was mostly "We're not married" and "she's not my wife" and "he's not my husband" but Ansel cut the both of us off.

Luckily, Ansel changed the subject. "You seek the merlock orchid."

Klaus and I both exchanged suspicious looks before looking back at Ansel. "How did you know that?" Klaus asked.

"I saw you carry Elijah home last night," Ansel answered. "Who do you think used to find the orchid for your mother to put Mikael to sleep? Without my help, you two could search forever."

I looked over at Klaus and gave him a look that told him to consider Ansel's help. He was right; the longer we searched for the orchid, the longer Elijah would be in trouble.

Klaus, in return, made a face that told me to "get real", and looked back over at Ansel. "My mother brought you back from the dead. My sense of strategy tells me that it wasn't to play a father-son game of hide and seek."

He once again grabbed me by the wrist and turned us both around to look for the flower when Ansel's voice stopped us, "You can storm off in a fit of stubbornness if you like, but I suggest you do so toward the west."

We looked back over to see Ansel gesturing to his right, and Klaus stopped for a moment, considering his options. I raised my eyebrows, silently telling him to consider Ansel once again.

Klaus let go of my wrist and started walking towards the west. I offered Ansel a weak smile as I followed after Klaus.

We wandered in the forest quietly while Ansel trailed behind us. I wanted to start talking with Klaus, but with the whole "my dad is back" thing, I decided to keep my mouth shut in case I accidentally unleashed "Rager Klaus" as I liked to refer to him.

"A thousand years estranged, and you choose to walk in silence?" Ansel asked. "Surely you have questions for me."

Klaus sighed. "Just one- is there a way to cure Elijah without having to listen to the pointless ramblings of an old man?"

I couldn't help my little snort at Klaus's comment, which made him smile.

"I'm afraid the price of my expertise is conversation," Ansel retorted as he caught up to us. He patted Klaus affectionately on the back and slipped in front of us so he could lead the way through the woods.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, but I simply gave Klaus a shrug as I continued after Ansel, knowing that he was really our only way in finding the orchid.

"You know, I used to tell myself that my real father must have had no idea I existed. Otherwise, he'd never leave me to suffer under Mikael," Klaus commented, and I felt myself become filled with secondhand embarrassment.

"Esther forbade from seeing you," Ansel explained. "So, I waited, knowing that one day, you would trigger your curse and need your real father. When that happened, Mikael found me first. I fought him for you."

"Yes, well, your grand declaration is just a few years too late," Klaus grumbled.

"Now, you joke, but I know you've always felt a void in your life. I've watched you from beyond for centuries. You've travelled all corners of the world, seen monuments erected, feasted on the blood of the history's most extraordinary men, but you've never found true peace," Ansel theorized. "The only moments of joy in your life, however fleeting, have been simple pleasures. As you climbed the Himalayas, as you tended to your horses. Quiet days, teaching that boy Shakespeare-"

I knew how hard it was to peel back Klaus' layers, and I knew how uncomfortable he got whenever I pulled back each later. He always hated being vulnerable, and I could see that the way that Ansel was talking was starting to overwhelm him. "Ansel, stop," I tried.

"I watched you fall in love with this girl," Ansel said, gesturing to me, and I looked away as I once again felt the flush of embarrassment. "I watched you paint. I watched you feel your unborn daughter's kick-"

Him mentioning Charlotte made me feel a little angry and obviously Klaus felt the same way, but he felt it a lot more than I did because he vamp-sped towards Ansel and grabbed him in a choke-hold.

"Klaus, knock it off!" I tried, but he ignored me, of course.

"I said, stop!" Klaus said angrily. "A millennium of observing me- were your eyes closed as I slaughtered whole villages? Fed my way through thousands of innocents?" Klaus let go of Ansel's throat. "Because, let's face it- I have a tendency to play with my food."

Ansel stared at him, silent, as Klaus stepped closer to him so that they were nearly nose to nose. "Have I made you proud, Father?"

Now clearly upset, Klaus angrily shoved past Ansel, and I felt a small twinge of sympathy at the look on Ansel's face.

But as much as I felt for Ansel, Klaus was my family. I shrugged at him a little before pushing past him as well, following Klaus. "You know, as much as you complain about Mikael, you'd think you'd take every opportunity to get to know your _real_ Dad."

"He is not my father," Klaus insisted as he walked away. "He abandoned me."

"He did _not_," I protested. "You heard him, Esther kept him away from you."

Klaus scoffed. "If he wanted to be a _real_ father, he wouldn't have let anything stop him."

"Klaus, that's not fair and you know it," I told him. "Just try to see it from his perspective. He's been brought back from the dead, all excited to meet his son, and this is what he gets?"

Klaus suddenly stopped and turned around to face me, making me stop abruptly and trying to keep myself from slamming into his chest. "Who's side are you on?" he demanded.

I sighed. "Yours. Always yours. But all I'm saying is that I know what it's like to be adopted, too. And I have _two_ dead dads. The two of yours were resurrected. Grant it, one is a homicidal jerk, but the other?" I shook my head. "Not so much."

Klaus was silent, but finally he asked, "Your point?"

I sighed again. "My _point_ is that I never got the chance to know my own biological father before he died. You should at least give Ansel a chance." I lifted a shoulder as I moved past him to keep looking for the orchid.

I was a little farther ahead than Ansel and Klaus, and I strained to hear if Klaus had taken my advice.

"She's a wonderful girl," Ansel said, and I forced myself to keep my head faced forward as I kept walking. "She cares about you, probably more than she thinks she should. And you love her because of that and because she looks after her own. And she considers you as one of her own. You're lucky."

I heard Klaus's tense breaths as he answered, "If you speak of her again, I will rip out your throat."

I rolled my eyes at Klaus obviously dodging Ansel's attempt to connect with his son, so I looked over my shoulder, pretending that I didn't hear the conversation. "Are you boys coming or what?"

* * *

The three of us finally found the merlock orchids. They were on the branches of a large tree, but surrounding the tree where dozens upon dozens of purple flowered herbs.

"Vervain," Klaus said in frustration. "It's everywhere. My relentless mother has set a trap."

Ansel looked at the tree and then back at Klaus before smiling pleasantly. "I'll retrieve the merlock for you."

Klaus looked at him suspiciously. "At what cost?"

I pinched Klaus' upper arm, hard, and he pretended that the pain didn't bother him as I harshly whispered in his ear, "Must you be suspicious of him at ever turn?"

Ansel angrily threw his knife into the ground and approached Klaus. "Why don't you use your vampire abilities to end your doubts? Search my mind. You'll see I'm not aligned with your mother."

"I have absolutely no interest in the inner-workings of your brain," Klaus retorted calmly.

Ansel shook his head. "I'm surprised at your cowardice."

"Oh?" Klaus wondered thoughtfully.

"While you stand here in fear of me, your brother suffers further," Ansel answered.

All right, bringing Charlotte into it was enough, but bringing Elijah into it? I was trying to help the guy, but trying to guilt trip Klaus was going to eventually get the guy into trouble. "Listen, if neither of you will get the stupid plant, then I will!" I declared as I stepped forward towards the vervain, but Klaus and Ansel both immediately reached forward and each grabbed one arm, pulling me back and away from the vervain.

"That is not necessary, love," Klaus told me as he turned to Ansel. "Gather the orchids," he told him.

* * *

Klaus and I started a fire as Ansel went and got the plant for us. When he came back, night had already fallen.

Klaus and I were sitting across from Ansel as the fire burned between us. Ansel was using his long knife to cut the merlock orchids.

"I've always seen a blade to have a very different use," Klaus commented casually, and I jutted him with my elbow, earning me a questioning look from Klaus.

"Mikael taught you to kill, Klaus- but, you were born to create. Power lies in embracing your true nature," Ansel told him.

"You think I should accept my mother's offer?" Klaus wondered. "Sacrifice my vampirism? And then what? Become a florist?"

Ansel smiled. "You wouldn't be sacrificing anything. As a wolf, you'll be king to an entire species," he responded. "You would feel at true peace. And you'll be a better father."

Klaus' face immediately turned into one of anger. "I am no longer a father, and she is no longer a mother."

Klaus took my hand, interlocking our fingers before standing us up. My hand firmly in his grasp, we started walking away from the camp fire, but Ansel continued talking. "In our animal form, we feel everything more acutely."

Klaus stopped, making me stop, but we didn't turn around to face Ansel.

"When you were a boy, after each full moon, I would wake closer to your village, having been drawn to you in the night," Ansel started. "Since I've been back, each month when I turn, I wake further from New Orleans. I know the call of my own blood, Klaus."

I felt my blood run cold, I exchanged a horrified look with Klaus as we slowly turned around to face Ansel.

"I know your child is still alive," Ansel nodded at us.

I felt like my entire life had been turned upside down. After everything we had done to ensure that no one knew that Charlotte was alive, Ansel knew? Because of some sort of dumb "blood calls for blood" thing?

Klaus and I exchanged wary looks, but we went back to the camp fire to listen to the rest of what Ansel had to say. We sat by the camp fire, where Ansel had just placed the merlock orchid poultice into a handkerchief before handing it off to Klaus.

"This will help Elijah," he said.

He turned away, but Klaus called out to him last second, "Ansel."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise as Ansel turned around, looking hopeful. I wanted to hear what Klaus had to say, too.

"I'd be lying if I said your offer wasn't appealing," Klaus started. "I've never known a parent to be a benevolent force. I think I would have liked to have been your son. But, a different path was chosen for me, and I have, for the past one thousand years, been son of Mikael. Paranoid. Vengeful. And, powerful enough to protect my daughter."

I felt my stomach drop at Klaus' confirmation that Charlotte was still alive, but Klaus gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. He stood up and walked towards Ansel, who clasped the back of his son's head affectionately.

"I want to help you defend her," Ansel insisted.

Klaus was near tears as he grasped Ansel's hand on his face. "I believe you. But, love is what Esther twists. She will take the best of your intentions, and she will use them to get to my little girl."

Klaus removed Ansel's hand from his face but kept it grasped tightly in his hand. "You waited too long before you came to rescue me." He brushed past Ansel, but stopped in his tracks. "I won't make the same mistake with Charlotte."

Klaus leaned down and picked up Ansel's blade, and I felt my heart drop as I realized what Klaus was planning on.

Ansel realized it as well as he turned around to face Klaus. "No," Ansel pleaded as Klaus walked towards him with the blade in his hand, and Ansel shook his head desperately. "No, Klaus. I know you. You are not capable of this."

As a single tear dropped from Klaus's eye, he said, "That's the first lie you've told me."

Ansel looked at Klaus sadly, and before Klaus could lose his nerve, he slashed at him with the blade, slicing Ansel's chest open in a diagonal line. I involuntarily gasped as Ansel did.

Ansel staggered forward, and as if the realization of what he had just done had finally hit him, Klaus looked at his father in horror as he stepped forward and caught him in his arms. He slowly lowered Ansel to the ground as I stood behind Klaus, knowing better than to interrupt the moment between the two.

Ansel, still shocked, caressed Klaus' cheek with his hand before he finally took one last breath and died.

Klaus, clearly overwhelmed, started crying, and the sight of Klaus crying (I didn't think I'd ever seen him cry) made me pitch forward and hug him from behind. I put my arms under his arms and wrapped my arms around his chest, hugging his back to me as I murmured words of comfort to him, even though I knew that they really meant nothing. No words could be said to make this all better.

* * *

Klaus and I arrived back home. The car journey home was silent, but I could tell that Klaus was ready to talk about it yet, so I respected that and kept my distance.

When we got back, we headed straight for Elijah's room, where he was still sleeping fitfully. Klaus took out the handkerchief that Ansel had given us and started smearing the poultice onto Elijah's neck. I sat on the other side of Elijah, holding his hand as I watched Klaus treat him.

"We were innocent once, Elijah," Klaus said quietly to his brother. "This bloodlust was forced upon us by our parents, turning us from prey to predator. We're the demons lurking in shadow. We are the savage villains in fairy tales taught to children. But, not for my child. Not for Charlotte. In her stories, we are knights in shining armor. Without you by my side, I don't think I can survive my own love for my daughter. I need you. I need you, brother. The monster in me can only be challenged by the monster in you." He squeezed Elijah's shoulder. "Only together can we fight our demons and save our family."

After a moment, Elijah finally awoke with a gasp, and I felt relief flood through me at the sight of his eyes. At first, he didn't notice me; all he saw was his brother. The two of them were shocked to see each other, but after a moment, Klaus smiled at him in reassurance.

When Elijah realized that someone was holding his hand, he looked over at me, and I gave him a tenative smile. Elijah and I's relationship had been rocky, but I wanted us to start to patch things up. I didn't know if we could go back to the way we were before (and I didn't know if I even wanted to head down that road again), but maybe we could be something different. "Good morning, sleepy head," I said quietly, earning me a small smile from Elijah.

* * *

After Klaus and I left Elijah to change in his bedroom, I followed Klaus into his bedroom. "Are you ready to talk?" I asked.

Klaus stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me. "About what?"

I gave him a strange look. "Well, we kind of spent the entire day with your real father, who was brought back from the dead by your crazy mother who believed that he could convince you to forgo your vampire ways by manipulating you with the thoughts of the person you could have been if you had been raised by him. With nurture, with love, with kindness."

Klaus smirked a little as he walked towards me. "Are you sure you are a history major, and not a psychology major? At this rate, you will give Camille a run for her money."

"Don't do that," I cut in. "Don't act like what happened today has not affected you." I took a deep breath. "He knew about Charlotte. And while I know that you wanted nothing more than to trust him, you still doubted him because you're entire life you've been trained to doubt people." I pointed to myself. "And you, being _you_, wants the best for your kid, so you wouldn't let yourself by selfish like you normally would, so you killed him." I sighed deeply. "And in retrospect, I should have been the one to kill him. Ansel was nothing to me. He was just my baby's grandfather." I took a step towards Klaus. "To you, he was the symbol of a life you never had. To you, he was the promise that at least one thing in your life didn't _have to be_ all screwed up. To you, he could have been your father." I lifted a shoulder as I stopped in front of Klaus. "For me, I would have been upset for a little while, because I had taken another life. But then I would have gotten over it. I should have taken that burden. I should never have let you have it because then you get all moody and broody and sad and-" I cut myself off, taking a deep breath. "You've suffered enough emotional trauma in your life. And you've done a lot for me. The least I could've done was taken the fall for this."

When I stopped, Klaus was silent for a moment, but after second, he reached forward and grabbed me into a hug. He held me tightly to his chest as he buried his face into my hair. "You are good, Juliet Gilbert," Klaus whispered into my ear as I hugged him back. "And you deserve so much better than the life you have been given." He pulled back, but he kept his hands on my face. "Ansel was right about one thing today. I am lucky. I'm lucky that a person like you, full of compassion, light, and love, is the mother of my child."

We both stood there for a while as we stared at each other, and eventually I offered Klaus a small smile at his words.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Klaus began leaning his face forwards towards mine. I just stood there dumbly for a second, wondering what he was doing, but when I _did_ figure it out, I nearly ran away. I didn't know what was keeping my feet planted firmly on the ground, but I couldn't bring myself to move. I felt my heart pick up and the tips of my ears turn pink as Klaus' face got closer to mine, and I was still standing there stupidly when footsteps interrupted us. We jolted apart as Elijah entered the doorway, the two of us flushing as red as tomatoes.

Klaus cleared his throat awkwardly before Elijah could question what was going on. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Elijah shrugged a little. "The worst has past. Though, I suspect the nightmares are far from over."

Klaus nodded. "Well, gather your strength. After the message I sent Mother tonight, I expect hell-fire to rain upon us imminently."

Elijah approached us as he said, "We need to make a move before she strikes."

Suddenly, Marcel and Hayley appeared in the doorway. "Well, actually, moves were made while you were sleeping," Marcel told us.

Hayley smiled when she saw Elijah. "It's good to see you vertical," she told him. "Marcel and I each left a gift for you in the ballroom." Klaus looked at them curiously, and Hayley held out her hands as she said, "You're welcome?"

Klaus then looked at Elijah, who gestured toward the door. I followed behind the brothers as we walked downstairs. When we got to the ballroom, my jaw dropped open at the sight of both Finn (in the body of a witch named Vincent) and Kol (who turned out to be Kaleb, the kid from Davina's cabin). Klaus and Elijah both grinned as they caught sight of their brothers.

"Kidnapping?" Kol asked incredulously. "That's a rather unpleasant way to begin a family reunion!"

Klaus grinned. "Well, wait until you see how we end it!"

* * *

**TBC...**

**WE SHALL SOON BE REACHING THE REAPPEARANCE OF CHARLOTTE!**

**WHO'S EXCITED?**

**Also, for those of you who will complain about Jules not picking someone, she'll be making her choice very very soon.**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**The Brothers That Care Forgot...**_

GUEST STAR CLAIRE HOLT RETURNS AS REBEKAH MIKAELSON — Rebekah, who has spent months away living a normal life with baby Charlotte, finds herself on the run when she realizes Esther has uncovered her whereabouts. Convinced that Finn and Kol would be powerful allies in his fight to take down Esther, Klaus sets a plan in motion to turn his brothers against their mother. Meanwhile, Juliet helps Hayley when she is conflicted after she and Jackson stumble upon an ancient ritual that would get their werewolf packs out from under Esther's control, but that would require her to make a tremendous sacrifice. Elsewhere, Rebekah is concerned when she notices something is off with Elijah. Finally, Davina takes matters into her own hands by turning to dark magic, and Cami finds herself at the center of Esther's Dangerous plan.


	32. The Brothers that Care Forgot

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** This is the last update for a while guys! Final exams are right around the corner!

ANYWAYS!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"The wolves are freaking out," Aiden began. "They know it had to be an insider who took down Vincent last night, seeing as no one could have been anywhere near him."

Hayley, Jack, Aiden, and I were all in the Bayou. We were sitting outside of Jackson's trailer, discussing our pack's current problems.

"Did anyone suspect it was you?" Jack asked.

Aiden shook his head. "No, not yet. But, they're gonna figure it out, which pretty much means I'm screwed unless we come up with a plan."

"Call a meeting," Hayley suggested. "The whole pack, tonight. If they're so scared, now's the perfect time to convince them they need to ditch Esther."

Aiden held up his hand, and we all realized with annoyance that he was wearing a moonlight ring. "She gave them moonlight rings."

"Those things are what made you guys pathetic slaves, remember?" I asked.

"No!" Aiden protested. "They make us powerful. We were exiles before, but now we run the city! The vampires are scared of us, and nobody, including me, is just gonna walk away from that because-"

Jackson, rolling his eyes, stood up and approached Aiden before interrupting him. "Set the damn meeting." He then walked away, and Hayley and I exchanged looks before going after him.

He had stopped at the deck of the pond, and he had just cracked open a can of beer when we got to him.

"So, are you gonna work on a rousing speech, or just get day-drunk?" Hayley asked as she stopped in front of him.

"Little bit of both," He replied as he raised the can to his lips.

I growled lowly in annoyance as I snatched the beer can from him. "Come on, man, it's ten in the morning."

Jackson turned away from me as he went to lean against the boat house. Next to him was a small table covered in books, and he grabbed a brown, leather bound journal on top of the pile. "You know, for months, I wrote down every single word Ansel said. The entire history of our people. If only I'd known he was Klaus' father, I would have asked him a hell of a lot more. You know, I was up all night looking through this, trying to find something, anything that will help me figure out how to get our people back together." He tossed the book back on the table.

"Let me guess- no such luck?" Hayley wondered.

Jackson sighed. "Nothing viable. And now, Ansel's dead... along with Ollie. So, forgive me if I need a beer, 'cause right now, I can use all the help I can get." With that, he snatched the beer from my hand, and I had no choice but to let him. Once I was sure he was gone, I reached down and grabbed the leather journal.

"What are you doing?" Hayley asked as I opened it.

"Just because Jackson is wandering around Willy Wonka's Alcohol Factory doesn't mean that we can't try to research on our own," I told her. "Maybe there's something useful that he's overlooked."

I sat down on the porch as Hayley sat down next to me. I tilted it so that she was looking at it too, and we both pored over the book for a while. We eventually _did_ find something, and once we had, we went right back to Jackson at his trailer where he was chopping firewood.

"You wanna stop playing mountain-man and explain why you kept this from us?" Hayley asked as she gestured to the journal in my hands.

Jackson sighed as he dropped his axe. "You must have been drunk while reading this because you missed a big detail." I cracked the book back open and read, "'The werewolves' power can be traced back to the myth of the Unification Ceremony, a ritual that bestowed certain unique abilities onto every member of the pack.'"

Hayley put her hands on her hips. "Do you believe this?"

"I didn't at first," he answered. "And then Ansel swore he saw it with his own eyes. And then he dies, and I found out he was resurrected from a thousand years ago, which means he was alive to see it!"

"How did we not know about this?" I demanded.

"You two didn't grow up out here," Jack reminded us. "Yeah, every kid grows up hearing the stories. Back in the day, werewolf bloodlines were all distinct, right? Some had speed, some had strength, some could sense enemies from miles away. Now, to evolve, we would perform a ritual. A shaman would marry the alphas of each bloodline, and then the special abilities of each would be... inherited, mystically, by everyone who participated in the ritual. See, after a few centuries, everybody had the same abilities, so alpha marriages became political. They became about... power, about territory."

Hayley was quiet for a moment, but then spoke up. "But we know someone who has a unique ability!" Before Jack and I could say anything, Hayley gestured to me. "Jules! Because she's a hybrid, she can control when she changes! So, if this mystical union thing works, then- then our people get her power, and they can ditch the rings! Which means Esther no longer has a hold over them!"

Jackson and I shared surprised looks before looking back over at Hayley, who looked very excited. She frowned when she realized that we didn't look the same. "Jack, this is exactly the answer that we've been looking for! Why aren't you guys more excited?"

"One problem with that," I pointed out. "I'm not the Alpha. You are."

She shrugged a little. "I'm willing to step down as Alpha and let you be Alpha if it means our people are free."

"Hayley, I can't let you do that," I started. "I _gave_ you the job, remember? I didn't want it."

"But you'd do anything to help the wolves, right?" She asked, and I didn't respond because she knew the answer. "Let's find a shaman, you guys can say some vows. Hell, we'll make it a party!"

Jackson looked from me to Hayley unhappily. "It ain't just a party. If the vows ain't honored, it doesn't work."

Hayley and I exchanged fallen looks, and I looked back to Jackson. "So you're saying that if we want this to work, Hayley would have to step down as Alpha and I'd have to _actually_ marry you? As in, 'till death do us part', for the rest of our lives?"

Jackson nodded. "Exactly. I mean, I like you and all, Jules, but do you really want to marry me?"

I bit my lip, clutching the book to my chest. _Married? _To _Jackson_? The thought sounded so ridiculous it sounded impossible to do in real life.

My silence was all the answer Jackson needed. "Didn't think so," he said, going back to chop firewood.

* * *

It was Hayley's idea to call Cami. She and Cami had known each other a bit more than I knew Cami, so it made sense that Cami agreed to the favour when it came from Hayley.

The three of us were now in a secret room in Father Kieran's old apartment, where we were looking through Kieran's old files.

Cami suddenly groaned and rubbed her forehead as she leaned over the desk, and I couldn't help but look over at her in concern. Even if I didn't know her all that well, she was still Klaus's friend. Well, sort of. "You sure you're okay?" I asked.

She sighed. "Yeah, I must just be coming down with something."

"We're sorry to drag you out of bed for this," Hayley told her as we sifted.

Cami smiled. "Please. You just discovered an ancient marriage ritual with pretty drastic supernatural and personal implications. The least I can do is get out of bed."

Cami gestured towards a pile of files and books on the desk. "So, this is everything I found in my uncle's files about werewolf ceremonies and rituals. Mostly, it sounds like old folklore and fables."

I sighed in frustration as I sat down on the chair of the desk, and Cami flashed me a look of sympathy.

_ Married. To Jackson._

"...But, I'm guessing you're not here looking for some kind of proof," Cami offered.

I shook my head as I looked over at Hayley. "We don't know _what _we're looking for."

"Not to pry, but... does Jackson have any answers?" Cami wondered.

"He doesn't even want to talk about it," I said. "I mean, first of all, me doing this unification ceremony would involve Hayley giving up her position as the Alpha in our pack to _me_, a person who can't even decide what to _wear_ most mornings, let alone lead a pack of other werewolves. Also, it involves me _marrying_ Hayley's boyfriend."

_ Marrying_.

"He's not really my _boyfriend_..." Hayley tried, but when I gave her a glare that told her to shut up, she did.

"Even if he isn't your boyfriend, you really like him-maybe even love him-and I couldn't do that to you _or_ to him. Sure, he's a really good, decent guy-which, by the way, are hard to come by these days-_and_ he protected me when I was pregnant, but I think of him as more of a best friend than a husband. And I know that they say your husband should be your best friend, but Jack's a platonic best friend."

Cami gave me a bit of a look. "Are you sure that's all? This isn't about Elijah _or_ Klaus?"

I sucked in a deep breath. _I'm going to kill the both of them_. "I haven't really spoken to Elijah since I became a hybrid, but whenever he's in danger or there's someone else trying to move in on him I get a little..."

"Jealous?" Hayley offered, and even though I was trying to avoid that word, I nodded.

"But since I became a hybrid, I started spending more time with Klaus. My memories came back after I transitioned, so now I have all these extra memories and thoughts that I used to have about Klaus and it's starting to stir up..." I shook my head. "I don't know what it's starting to stir up. All I know is that the Mikaelson brothers _both_ have ways to get under my skin and I would rather not complicate my love life more than it already is by bringing in Jackson."

Cami and Hayley both looked at each other after my little outburtst, and Cami turned back to me. "Well, there is no right answer to this." She reached up and began pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "You just have to figure out what's best for you, and think long and hard about your decision, because you're the one who's going to have to live with it."

"Wonderful," I said with mock enthusiasm before dropping my head on to the desk in front of me.

_Married._

_ To Jackson_.

I heard shuffling, and I could tell that Cami was starting to put the files away. When I heard Hayley say, "Hey, what's that on your back?" I looked up to see a vertical line of pin pricks on Cami's back.

Cami, obviously concerned, walked over to a nearby mirror and turned so that she could see for herself. When she saw it, she looked over at the two of us in horror.

* * *

Cami immediately left afterwards, and Hayley and I had no choice but to leave the apartment was well. We found out that the pack was at St. Anne's church for the meeting, so we decided to just head on over there.

On the way there, I looked over at Hayley, "Hayley, we can think of another way. I don't have to marry Jackson."

"But you'll do it, for the sake of the pack?" She asked.

I sighed. I wasn't really comfortable with my decision, but it was a decision that I had to make nonetheless. "For the sake of the pack and because you're my Alpha, I'll do it. My relationship with Elijah and Klaus wasn't really going anywhere anyways, and I think I could be happy with Jack. But Hayls, I won't do this if Jackson doesn't want to. I mean, _you _love Jackson, not me. I can't believe you'd be willing to give him up for this."

Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes, but she wiped them away. "Yeah, well, as the leader of the pack, sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the good of your people. If you marrying Jackson can save everyone else, I'll be fine with it."

"You would _not. _There _has_ to be another way," I said as I gnawed on my bottom lip. "I can't turn you into a hybrid myself, because a) I don't think you'd be too keen on becoming a hybrid, and b) Charlotte's not here for you to drink her blood and complete the transition. Plus, there's no _way_ I'm letting you drink my baby daughter's blood."

"Trust me, I'd never drink her blood," she said. "Don't you see, Jules? There _is_ no other way. I wouldn't be asking you and Jackson to sacrifice your love lives if there was. You _know_ I wouldn't."

The conversation had drawn to a close by the time we got to the church, and with our supernatural hearing, we could hear Aiden saying, "'Cause he's the Alpha! You got a problem with that?"

We opened the doors of the church, and everyone turned to see what was going on. "We want to hear what Jackson has to say," Hayley spoke for the both of us as we strolled to the front of the room.

One of the wolves, Jerick, scoffed. "Oh look, if it isn't the Twisted Sisters. This is a _pack meeting_. Juliet's not one of us anymore. She never really _was_."

I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands as I closed them into a fist. I stopped at the front and turned around to face him. "Oh, no?" I asked, holding my hands up. I focused as hard as I could, and my nails started growing out like claws. My hands started transforming into wolf paws, and I felt my eyes flash gold. After a few dramatic moments, I shifted back, and I was back to human. "No matter how long I've been a wolf, I still _am_ one. Oh, and I don't need some magical ring to control when or how I change." I gave him a once over. "If you want the same, you'll shut your muzzle and listen."

Hayley drew herself to her full height and assumed her Alpha persona. "You all need help, and you know it. Now, whatever it is that you think of Jules, she was born a Crescent through her mother. Now, I'm the eldest of the Labonair line, which makes me an Alpha." She looked over at me. "However, I can pass on the Alpha position to someone else if I no longer want it." She then looked over at Jackson. "Jackson is your Alpha. Now, I don't know how many of you bought the story you grew up with, the Unification myth. Well, it is all true."

The crowd started to whisper among themselves, and Jackson looked over at Hayley and I, even more confused. "Which means...if Jackson and Jules get married, anyone with the guts to turn up to the ceremony has as much control over their wolf form as she does."

The Crescents started whispering louder amongst themselves as Jackson turned to the two of us with a shocked look. "What are you two doing?"

I sighed a little as I walked over to Jackson so that I was standing by his side. "What needs to be done," I replied, telling him with my eyes that I was all in for the marriage if he was. I didn't really like the thought of getting married to Jackson (I still thought it was a bit wrong) but if Hayley was giving her blessing and it'd free our people, I didn't have much choice.

I turned to address the crowd this time. "This isn't just about uniting our pack. It's about forming a new community."

Jackson was still clearly shocked by the turn of events, but he rolled with the plan as he put his arm around me. "This ceremony will change everything for us. It will give us the strength we need to defend ourselves. Then, and only then, can we finally have peace."

I walked down the steps to face the pack. "It's completely up to you. Keep on using the rings and stay somebody's bitch, or be part of the greatest pack that will ever live."

The wolves all started talking amongst themselves again as Aiden rose to his feet to join us at the front of the room. He gave us a bright smile as he said, "I'm in!"

I felt myself become flooded with relief as we watched Aiden take off his moonlight ring and drop it to the ground. I looked over at Jackson and gave him a tenative smile, and I felt even more relieved when he smiled back at me.

* * *

So here I was. An engaged woman.

You know what, I would've thought the whole marriage and baby thing would happen in a different order in different circumstances, but this was the hand I had been dealt. I'd learn to live with it.

I was sitting in the front pew when Jackson suddenly showed up after talking with some of the wolves. I gave him a smile as he sat down next to me. "I'm sorry that we just kinda dumped that on you. You had no time to prepare for it."

Jackson shook his head. "You know, I always thought it would be me popping the question instead of being the one put on the spot. Plus, I always imagined being married to Hayley." He smiled at me good-naturedly, which I returned. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I shook my head. "No. But I promised Hayley that I would, and I'm doing this for our people. And even though that just sounded very bad, I promise I'll be a good wife to you."

Jackson nudged me with his shoulder. "And I promise that I will be a good husband to you."

I smiled and nodded. "Good. Because I have a track record of being with bad guys and I know you're one of the good ones, so please don't disappoint me."

Jackson rose to his feet and moved in front of me, getting down on one knee. He took my hand in his own. "Juliet Gilbert, will you marry me?"

I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. I didn't really think I'd ever get married (I just always assumed that getting myself involved with a guy would just put him in danger because of my relation to the Mikaelson family) let alone to _Jackson_. "What, no ring?" I joked, and just as Jackson laughed, I realized what we were _really_ doing.

I sighed deeply as I gently took my hand back from him. "I'm sorry, Jack, I can't do this."

Jackson frowned a little and stood up. "What do you mean?"

I stood up too. "I mean I know I promised Hayley and our people that I'd do this, but I can't do this to Hayley, and I can't do this to _you_. I care too much about the two of you to ever hurt you guys like this."

"Jules?" I heard from behind me, and I looked to see Hayley walking over to us. She eyed us strangely. "What's going on?"

"I'm not doing it." I shook my head. "I'm not marrying Jackson."

"But Jules!" Hayley started as she ran the rest of the way to us. "You'd promise me you'd do this."

"Well, I'm sorry!" I sincerely said. "But in my mind, marriage should be for love, and even though Jackson is a really good guy that anyone would be lucky to have, I don't love him." I turned around, grabbed Jackson's hand, and put it in Hayley's. "You two love each other, and I'm not going to get in the way of that."

"But what about the-" Hayley started.

"We'll just figure out another way," I insisted. "Maybe we could still do the unification, but in a different way."

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked.

"I'm the one with the hybrid powers, right?" The both nodded. "When I was pregnant, to keep Hayley from turning on the full moon, I'd make her this special drink that would link her to me so she wouldn't have to change."

"But that was only temporary," Hayley pointed out. "The effects would wear off the next day."

"But what if we could find a way to make it permanent?" I asked her. "I merge our bodies, you can stay the Alpha, you'll inherit my powers, and when you marry Jackson, the rest of the pack will have them too."

Jackson sucked in a breath. "You're talking about a permanent merge, Jules. That could have serious problems."

"So would you and me getting married," I reminded him. "This is the only way that I can think of. No one else has to become a hybrid, Jackson and I don't have to get married, and our pack can _still_ get rid of the moonlight rings and out from under Esther's control." I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at the two of them. "What'll it be?"

* * *

When I returned to the compound with Hayley, it was after dark. Hayley and Jackson agreed to the plan, so Hayley and I were planning on going through Esther's grimoire to try and find a permanent merging spell. We also had to find Klaus and the others and tell them about our plan. I had just stepped into the compound when I ran into Klaus. _Literally_ ran into him.

I made an "oomph" sound as I crashed into his chest. He grabbed my arms to keep me from falling, and my hands landed on his chest. I felt my face flush a little at the position we found ourselves in, so I quickly changed the subject. "Good, you're here. Where's Elijah? There's something we have to tell you."

Unexpectedly, Klaus grabbed my cheeks and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. The spot where he kissed burned as he let go of a dumbstruck me and walked past me to leave the compound. "You can tell me on the way."

His words took a second to register. "Wh-what?" I stammered. I blinked really hard, trying to regain focus. "Where are we going?"

Klaus ran back over to me, putting his hands on my arms. He didn't try to kiss my head again (thank God), but he pulled me into a quick hug as he answered breathlessly with the biggest smile I'd ever seen him give me, "To see our daughter."

It took a minute for his words to fully sink in. _Our daughter? As in our baby daughter, Charlotte?_

I broke out of my stupor as I matched his grin. I completely forgot about my merging problem, about Hayley standing right beside me, about his kiss that was seared onto my forehead as I put my hand into Klaus's and let him lead me out of the compound and to his car as fast as possible.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Charlotte is back next chapter! Who's excited?**

**Also, hey, I have an idea for a new Originals story!**

**I know, I need to find some chill, but I can't get this story out of my head. Here's the summary:**

Meredith Freysdotter is a 1000 year old witch cursed to immortality by Esther Mikaelson for falling in love with her son Niklaus. After she loses control of her magic, she is locked up by her family. One day in the twenty first century, she finally manages to break free and runs, ending up in New Orleans, where she is reintroduced to her first love, Klaus Mikaelson. But from the trauma that Meredith suffered for a thousand years has damaged and changed her so that she's no longer Klaus's little Merry. Will the two of them come back together or are they doomed to stay apart? Klaus/OC.

**Let me know if you'd be interested in this story and if I should pursue it!**

** REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**The Map of Moments...**_

A HOLIDAY REUNION — When Rebekah notices an unusual change in Elijah's behavior, she asks Klaus and Juliet to meet her at their safe house, reuniting them with baby Charlotte. After reliving memories of being the odd man out, Kol opens up to Davina about his resentment towards his siblings and sheds some light on a spell he created in 1914. Meanwhile, when Cami discovers Esther's plan will put her life in danger, she demands answers from Finn, who remains steadfast in his convictions. Elsewhere, Esther makes an unlikely alliance that could prove dangerous for Klaus, and Juliet makes a decision that could change her relationship with Elijah and Klaus forever. Lastly, while Elijah continues to struggle with the lingering effects of being captured, Rebekah and Klaus devise a plan to take their mother down once and for all. Marcel also appears.


	33. The Map of Moments

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** Happy summer!

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I was too dazed to tell Klaus about my plan to merge with Hayley. It was night when we left, and it was slowly starting to trickle into the morning the closer we got to the safehouse in Arkansas.

Klaus and I, of course, were too hyped up to even think about sleeping, but Hayley was snoozing away in the back seat. I bit on my thumbnail thoughtfully, bouncing my knee up and down as I focused on Klaus's hands on the steering wheel.

He reached over and put his hand on my bouncing knee, making my knee tingle from the touch. "Juliet, you're giving me motion sickness."

This wasn't the first time someone had said this to me. I reluctantly stopped as I pushed myself up on the seat and wrapped my arms around my chest. In a little while, my baby will be in my arms. My _baby_. The little thing that I created and birthed.

"Are you nervous?" Klaus asked with a tiny grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes at him but offered a smile in return. "Is it that obvious?"

"Juliet, everything is gonna be fine," Klaus assured me. "We're almost there. Charlotte's waiting for her Mummy at the safe house."

"Wow," I breathed. "I was pregnant for nine months, and it's been months since I last saw her, but it still freaks me out when someone refers to me as a Mommy. For some reason I just can't think of myself as a mother."

"You're going to be a great mother, you know that, right?" Klaus asked.

I sucked in a breath. "You're gonna make a pretty good father," I returned. A terrifying thought crossed my mind, and I looked over at Klaus in worry. "What if she doesn't remember me?"

"What?" Klaus asked.

"She hasn't seen me or heard my voice in the months she's been born. What if she doesn't know that I'm her mother? Or worse, what if she thinks _Rebekah_ is her mother?" I demanded as my stomach built up with nerves.

"Juliet, you're being ridiculous," Klaus said. "You're going to get there, and she's going to know exactly who you are."

Just as Klaus sped down the driveway, a small house came into view, and I could see the figures of Rebekah and Elijah, and a small bundle in Elijah's arms.

I felt my heart soar as Klaus pulled up, and I didn't even wait for the car to be parked as I took my seatbelt off and jumped out of the car. I ran right over to where the two of them were, and I immediately stopped in my tracks as soon as I saw her.

_Charlotte Hayley Mikaelson_. My little miracle.

I heard Klaus and Hayley running behind me, but I paid them no attention as I carefully stepped towards Elijah, who was holding Charlotte. Elijah flashed me the biggest smile I had ever seen him give, and I returned it as he held out my baby to me.

Charlotte was smiling and squealing as I lifted my shaking arms. _She knew me. She knew who I was. _I carefully took her into my arms as she gooed and pressed a small hand to my face. Her blue eyes glowed as she looked into my own brown ones.

I immediately burst into tears at the sight of her in my arms. She was so _big_. The last time I saw her, she fit into the lengths of my arms. Now, she was big enough to support her own head. She happily grinned at me as I put my hand on the back of her head and pressed her cheek to my own, pressing a sweet kiss to the side of her blonde head. "I know you," I whispered in her ear, the same words I said to her when she was first born. "Mommy's been waiting for you."

I looked over my shoulder to see Klaus standing next to me, and I was hit with a wave of shame as I remembered that she wasn't just my child. I turned towards him and albeit reluctantly, passed her on to him. Klaus gently took her from me and hugged her tightly to his chest.

I kept one hand on her back as she cooed up at her father, who looked over to me with the biggest grin on his face. Klaus put one arm around my back, and I automatically did the same thing to him as we smothered our baby with kisses.

I took her back from Klaus, but then passed her on to Hayley, who grinned and pressed a kiss to her niece's forehead. After she had a couple of minutes with Charlotte, she passed her back over to me.

I balanced her on one side of my body as Klaus told us about what was going on with their aunt Dahlia. The Mikaelsons plus Hayley were building a bonfire as we talked.

"Curse on the first-born? What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" Rebekah demanded.

"Well, according to Finn, our sister Freya didn't die of plague. She was taken as payment by our aunt Dahlia, who then cursed all Mikaelson first-borns for eternity," Klaus explained.

I instinctively clutched my daughter closer to me, if that was even physically possible. I felt her playing with my hair as I asked, "Is there any truth to this?" I asked.

"It is if we are to believe Finn, who learned it from the bastion of truth- our mother," Elijah pointed out.

"Well, no wonder Finn hates us. He lost the sister he adored, and instead got a judgy pack of siblings who found him unbearably dull," Rebekah joked.

I blew air out of my lips. "Perfect. Just perfect. Why does everything happen to _me_?" I muttered as I looked down at my daughter before looking back to the Mikaelsons. "So, is there any chance of us running into your crazy aunt Dahlia any time soon?"

"The fable's over a thousand years old. Dahlia is long dead," Elijah responded.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, like Esther's been long dead?" I demanded.

Klaus put a hand on the small of my back and patted it in comfort. "No one's going to hurt Charlotte, because no one's going to find her," he tried to assure me. "There's enough wood, Rebekah. You'll burn down the whole bloody state of Arkansas."

Rebekah rubbed her hands together excitedly as she came back to where we were all standing. "Well, we're just missing a key ingredient!" She grinned.

Klaus sighed. "No, we're not."

"Yes, we are, Nik!" Rebekah whined. She looked over at her other brother. "Back me up, Elijah!"

Elijah laughed. "I suspect Niklaus would rather choke on the ashes."

I looked around at them in confusion. "What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"Is this some sort of Mikaelson family thing that us Labonairs no nothing about?" Hayley further pressed.

"Well, before we light it, we write down our wishes for each other to burn for luck! It was Kol's favorite part when we were kids!" Rebekah informed us.

"It's further evidence as to why we should ignore it!" Klaus insisted.

I looked down at Charlotte before looking to the bonfire. "Char's first bonfire season. I like it!" I grinned as I looked over at Klaus. "We're totally doing it!"

I passed off Charlotte to Klaus as I ran inside to look for paper. As soon as I had found a small notebook and some pens, I went into the dining room. I couldn't help but grin at the sight of Klaus making silly faces at our daughter, who laughed gleefully as she reached out to touch her father's face.

"I found some!" I announced as I stopped in front of them.

Klaus was so busy doting on Charlotte that he didn't take his eyes off of her as he spoke to me. "] I'm holding a small child, Juliet," he said happily. "This silly wish game will have to wait!"

I gave him a smile. "How about I'll hold our small child and you write?"

"You do realize that you can't boss me around, right?" Klaus asked as he looked over at me.

I smiled wider. "You do realize that I had to endure an atrocious _forced _ labor and actual death birthing the child that you're holding?"

Klaus chuckled and shook his head at me, but I walked over and took Charlotte from him. "Hey, little Peanut," I cooed as I adjusted her in my arms and sat down across from Klaus.

"Have you come up with a wish yet?" Klaus asked.

I cradled Charlotte to my side as I hummed happily. "Not yet. With Charlotte here, I already have everything I want." I hesitated before looking up at Klaus. "You remember that thing that I wanted to tell you?"

He nodded. "Yes."

I huffed. "Just remember that I'm currently holding the small child-_your_ small child-that I died giving birth to whom you love very much-"

Klaus chuckled. "Juliet, please get on with it."

_He wasn't going to be laughing in a minute. _"Hayley and I found a way to free our people from Esther's control."

Klaus smiled. "Why, that's wonderful news! How are you gonna do it?"

I bit my lip. "Well, it's through a unification ceremony. If two Alphas get married, then their packs inherit their powers. Hayley has no powers, so she was going to pass her Alpha status on to me because I'm the one with the hybrid powers."

Klaus immediately stiffened at what I was implying. "So...you're going to marry Jackson?"

_Oh boy, he got mad at _that_ part_. I hugged Charlotte closer to me as I said, "I was going to, but then I decided that I couldn't marry Jackson because of how he and Hayley feel about each other. So Hayley's gonna marry Jackson."

"But Hayley still doesn't have any powers," Klaus pointed out.

"Right," I agreed. _Here goes nothing_. "I'm going to do a spell that merges mine and Hayley's bodies together so that she will inherit my hybrid powers that she will then share with the rest of the pack when she marries Jackson," I said all in one breath.

Klaus was silent for a second, then said, "You can't be serious."

I straightened my back. "I'm dead serious, Klaus."

"I can't allow this," he immediately retorted.

I furrowed my brows at him. "And why not?"

"Because what you're talking about is a _permanent merge_, Juliet," Klaus insisted. "It's not like those one day merges that you did back when you were pregnant."

"I'm doing this for the good of my family, Klaus," I told him. "The more people that are out from under Esther's control the more people there are to help protect Charlotte. Besides, it's not like I'm merging myself to some stranger. I'm merging with Hayley, my cousin, practically my sister."

"Oh, that's what makes it all right," Klaus said sarcastically.

"Klaus, why are you being so difficult about this?" I demanded. "What, are you the only one allowed to make sacrifices for your family?"

"I do not make _stupid_ sacrifices," He corrected.

I scoffed as I adjusted a squirming Charlotte in my arms. "What, so you'd rather _I_ marry Jackson?"

"No!" He said as soon as the last word left my lips, and we both kinda paused in shock at the intensity of his rejection to the idea.

I cleared my throat awkwardly as I said, "Then I don't see any other way."

Klaus leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I'm not okay with this," he told me.

"You don't have to be," I retorted. "This is my body, my spell, _my_ decision, and I've made it."

"Then why ask for my opinion?" he demanded.

"I was just telling you as a formality," I responded. "So that when you eventually found out, you wouldn't go around..." I struggled for the word.

Klaus's face remained stony as he finished, "Killing people?"

I sighed. "That's not what I meant. You're putting words in my mouth."

"Oh, let's be honest Juliet, that was exactly what you wanted to say," Klaus said.

_How did this conversation go so wrong?_ "Klaus, please, I don't want to fight. Not on a day that should be one of the best days of our lives. Our daughter coming back to us."

Klaus growled. "I'm not the one picking a fight."

"Yes, you are," I threw back, but I took a deep breath as I tried keeping my anger in check. "Klaus, please, not right now. Not today. Can you please just write down your stupid wish so that we can go burn it and celebrate our kid's first bonfire?

"Fine," Klaus bit as he snatched the paper and pen from in front of him. He read aloud as he wrote, "'I wish Juliet would realize what a colossal mistake she is making by merging her body, mind, and soul with her reckless werewolf cousin just so she can marry and pass on her hybrid powers to her werewolf boyfriend and their pack'." He ripped off the page and held it out to me.

I openly glared at him as I snatched the paper out of his hand and crumpled it into a ball, throwing it on the ground. "'I wish Niklaus would stop pouting and be happy for me for coming up with such a brilliant idea that would save her family from his _insane _mother's control'."

Klaus held out the pen and notebook to me and gave me a condescending look. "You didn't write it down."

I had to keep my anger under control because I was holding an infant in my arms, but I could feel myself seething with rage as I stomped (the best I could while holding a baby) out of the room, muttering, "You're such a jackass," under my breath loud enough so that I knew that his hybrid hearing would pick it up.

* * *

I stayed by Hayley's side, who was playing peek-a-boo with Charlotte when we got outside, and I made it a point not to look at Klaus as we waited for Rebekah to come outside.

"Hey! Look what I found!" Rebekah exclaimed as she ran outside, waving a Polaroid camera in her hands. "I wonder if it'll work?"

Klaus growled under his breath. "Oh, bloody hell."

If I wasn't still made at him, I would've laughed, but I was still determined to stay mad at him, so I kept my attention on Rebekah. "Maybe."

"Come on, let's try it! Hey, Nik, do you think you can cram us all into a selfie?" Rebekah asked.

"Oh, Niklaus is a virtuoso at cramming his siblings into confined spaces," Elijah joked with a smug grin on his face.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm just glad I traveled hundreds of miles to visit my mentally ill brother, only to have him insult me to my face!"

"Oh, come on, just take the picture!" Rebekah demanded as she pass the camera on to Klaus.

I tried my best not to stand next to Klaus in the selfie, but the powers that were ended up forcing me to be right beside him, holding Charlotte in my arms. Hayley was on my other side, and then it was Elijah, and then Rebekah. We all smiled (Charlotte included, Klaus excluded) as Klaus took the photo. The picture came out, and we all watched and waited as it developed.

"Aw, see? I wish that it could always be like this," Rebekah said wistfully.

"Me too," I said, kissing my baby's head.

"If wishes were horses..." Elijah started.

His brother sighed ruefully. "...Beggars would ride."

We all looked happily at the picture, but Klaus suddenly sighed. "You realize we'll have to burn it," Klaus said, and not in the form of a question. "You want me to make a wish for the family, Rebekah? I wish it didn't have to be like this. But, it does."

Actually looking at me this time, Klaus handed the picture to me, and I took it the best I could with Charlotte in my arms. "We can't risk it falling into the wrong hands," he told me, and even though it pissed me off, I knew he was right.

I took one good long look at the photo, remembering how happy we all were on this day, before slowly walking over to the bonfire. I lifted the picture to my lips and kissed the image of Charlotte before finally tossing it into the bonfire. I sadly watched it wither and burn until the memory was nothing but a pile of ashes.

"No! This isn't right. We deserve this. We've earned this," Rebekah insisted. She must have picked up how sad we all were about the situation, because she suddenly perked up. "I won't let it slip away. I know what to do to stop Esther."

"Rebekah, no-" Elijah started tensely.

"I'm going to take her deal," Rebekah started.

"As in her body swapping deal?" Hayley asked.

Rebekah nodded. "And, when I do, I'm taking her down with me."

* * *

It was time for Charlotte to have her bottle (I was highly relieved that she was drinking milk and not blood, because blood in a baby bottle was just downright creepy) and Hayley sat outside with me as I sat in a rocking chair on the front porch. Charlotte was cradled in my arms, and she was gulping down the milk like there was no tomorrow.

"Are you going to tell your friends in Mystic Falls that she's alive?" Hayley suddenly piped up.

I was hit with a wave of guilt as I realized that hadn't even occurred to me. "I will, eventually. If Klaus's family gets to know that she's alive, then so does mine." I shook my head. "I'm not gonna talk about it with him today, though. He's already pissed at me."

Hayley gave me a sympathetic look. "Did you tell him about the plan?"

I nodded. "And as expected, he completely flipped. He thinks it's a terrible idea, but I still stand by the fact that it's a good one. I didn't want to be the Alpha, I didn't want to marry Jackson, and I didn't want to turn you into a hybrid. I saw no other option." Milk trickled out of the sides of Charlotte's mouth, and I lifted her bib a little to mop it up.

"What if it _is_ a terrible idea?" Hayley wondered. "I mean, we don't even know if it's gonna work."

"We'll never know unless we try," I pointed out as I rocked back and forth in the chair, staring down at the perfect face of Charlotte.

I focused on my hearing as I strained to listen to what was going on the house.

"It'll work," Rebekah insisted. "She will be distracted during the spell. She'll be vulnerable."

"No. If we kill her, she body-jumps," Klaus reminded her.

"Then stop her from jumping!" Rebekah retorted.

"If I knew how to bloody stop her from jumping, don't you think I would have happily murdered her ages ago?" Klaus demanded.

"Well, ages ago, you didn't have a Harvest girl or a Mikaelson witch. Kol knows all of her tricks!" Rebekah said.

Elijah scoffed. "Now, you're both insane."

"Hardly, Elijah," Rebekah went on. "It was your idea! You're the one who said she needed a win, and if we get this right, then she'll have one."

"And if we get it wrong, you're no longer in your own body!" Elijah threw back.

"Would that be the worst thing? You were ready to do it yourself!" Rebekah said, and my eyebrows raised in surprise as I continued to listen.

"It was a foolish moment, and one that you sagely dissuaded me from," Elijah said.

"Hopefully, we'll get lucky and stop the spell before I jump," Rebekah

"And, if we're not, you'll get what you always wanted," Klaus pointed out, and there was a bit of silence. "I mean, that's what you're saying, isn't it? You're willing to lose."

"I'm willing to risk losing, yes," Rebekah said in a quieter voice.

Klaus sighed. "Well, we need to find someone for her to jump into. Someone anonymous. Someone who could disappear with Charlotte."

"Rebekah, we've been together for centuries. If you were human-" Elijah started worriedly.

"When I'm old and wrinkly, you can dump me back into my old body," Rebekah said, sarcasm laced heavily in her tone. "Nik already has a coffin he can store me in."

Elijah groaned. "But to trust Kol?"

"It's not about trust, Elijah," Rebekah insisted. "It's about finding the proper leverage."

"She's right. Kol will do what's best for Kol- we just have to meet his price," Klaus finished.

* * *

Klaus and Rebekah left shortly afterwards, and so did Hayley, who said that she was going to do some more research on the merging spell. So it was just me, Charlotte, and Elijah in the house, which made me very nervous.

Charlotte had fallen asleep, so I laid her down in her little crib and gently placed a blanket on her. "Goodnight, my little Peanut." I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, soft enough that she wouldn't wake up. "Mommy loves you," I told her as I gently brushed the back of my hand against her cheek. "More than she loves anybody else in the world. And now that Mommy is practically invincible, she's going to protect you. She couldn't...before, when she was still a human. But now, Mommy's going to sacrifice everything to take care of you. Okay?"

Of course I didn't get a response. For a couple of minutes I just watched her as she slept. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, confirming that she was actually alive and here, with me.

How did I get so lucky? To have such a beautiful child?

After a couple of more minutes, I leaned forward and kissed her forehead one more time before kissing one of her little hands, and I pushed myself away from her crib and walked out of her nursery.

I smiled to myself as I walked down the stairs and into the living room, but my smile vanished when I saw that Elijah was sitting by the fireplace. I automatically stopped in the doorway. Elijah, suspecting that someone was standing there, looked over at me.

"She's finally asleep," I blurted out, not knowing what else to say. I couldn't help a small smile at the thought of my little girl. "She looks just like an angel."

I casually strolled more into the living room. "I don't think it's been so quiet before. I guess because Klaus and Rebekah are gone." I paused as I stopped in front of Elijah. "I didn't get to say my wish and I kind of want to tell someone what is it. Can I tell you mine?"

Elijah looked at me weirdly but stayed quiet, so I took that as a response to continue. "It actually has to do with you. That you won't freak out over what I'm about to tell you."

"And what is it?" He asked in confusion.

I sat down next to him on the couch as I said. "It's about my wolves. Hayley and I came up with a way to free them from the witches. They can control their turning without the rings and help protect our home so Charlotte can really come home."

Elijah _still _looked at me in confusion, so I kept going. "It involves a marriage ceremony. If two Alphas participate in a bonding ritual, then their packs gain all of their abilities. Now, Hayley doesn't have any powers, so I'm-"

"Going to marry Jackson?" Elijah finished, a bit of horror on his face.

"What? No!" I rejected. "Why does everyone think I'm just gonna _marry_ Jackson? Anyways, let me finish, please."

Elijah nodded for me to go on, so I did. "Hayley needs hybrid powers, but I can't turn her into one. Instead, I'm going to merge my body with hers, so that she inherits _my_ hybrid powers that she can then pass on to the packs when she marries Jackson."

Elijah was silent again, and I was so ready to tear my own hair out just to get him to respond to _something _when he said, "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded. "I'm absolutely sure, Elijah. This is the only way to free them from Esther. I won't have my people be prisoners."

He nodded. "Then I shall stand behind you."

I sighed in relief. Why couldn't Klaus be like Elijah? "Thank you. Now, I need another favour from you."

Elijah smiled a little as he said, "Go on, then."

"I need you to make Klaus feel the same way," I told him.

Elijah's face dropped. "You told Niklaus first?"

"Yeah. Why, is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"Of course it is!" He answered as he stood up. "If you had told me first, we could have come up with a better way to tell him and make him understand. I know my brother, and he has rejected the idea."

"Yup," I said as I stood up as well. "But that's why I need you to talk to him. I'm still going to do it, but I don't want Klaus being mad at me while I do it."

Elijah hesitated but said, "I will talk to Klaus. But under one condition. You answer my next question truthfully."

I nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course."

Elijah took a couple of steps closer to me as he asked, "Why did you tell Niklaus before you told me?"

I looked at him in confusion. "I didn't really plan it. I was planning on telling the both of you at the same time, but then we got that call from Rebekah and then we were here all day and..." Something struck me. "why does it even matter?"

"Because in the past, you've always come to me whenever you needed something, or whenever you had a plan for something," Elijah pointed out, and I could feel my stomach drop because I knew where this conversation was heading.

I should be more careful with my promises.

"I don't know, Elijah," I said. "I saw Klaus first, so I told him first. If I had seen you first, I would have told you first. Besides, _you_ were the one that insisted that Klaus and I trusted each other more."

"Yes, _trust_, not-" he cut himself off, looking away from me.

I gulped. "No, finish the sentence, Elijah."

He once again hesitated, but in two quick steps he was grabbing the sides of my face and pulling me in for a deep kiss.

I reached up and put my hands on his arms and kissed him back. I found that the same intense fire I had felt when I kissed Elijah in the past was there, but it was faint. He was still an amazing kisser, but there was still something missing.

I eventually pulled back, holding a fistful of his shirt as I leaned my forehead on his. "Elijah," I gulped, breathing in his sweet scent. I looked up at him. "_This_...this is something that I will always treasure. But right now, I can't focus on this. The one thing that I have to focus on is my baby, who just came back to me _today_. I need to focus on figuring out a way to keep her here permanently, not figuring out what I feel for you or what I feel for Klaus." I reached up and grasped the sides of his face. "I care about you so much, Elijah. So much. But right now, I have to pick my baby, okay?"

Elijah leaned down and kissed me again, which I accepted. I drank in the feeling of his lips on mine, the way his heart thudded against my own, the way he tangled his hand in my hair as we kissed. He pulled back, brushing his nose against my own. "I understand," he managed to choke out, and there was a sudden woosh of air. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

I sank back down on to the couch, feeling some tears building up in my eyes as I covered my mouth.

My heart was calling out to Elijah. But it was also bonding with Klaus.

Which part of my heart was I supposed to listen to?

* * *

**TBC...**

**So there was no Juliet/Elijah sex scene, but there was a couple of kisses!**

**I honestly think the choice Juliet made is very Juliet. Focusing on how to keep her baby with her permanently is the only thing she should be focusing on, which is, obviously, what she is doing. But she will be confronted with the decision regarding the Mikaelson brothers soon!**

**Hopefully I can finish this and catch up soon!**

**REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!**

* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**Gonna Set Your Flag on Fire...**_

WHEN TWO SIDES COLLIDE — With Finn on the loose and hell bent on revenge, Klaus brings Cami to the safe house as he and Juliet return to the compound. Hayley, Jackson, and Juliet devise a plan to bring the vampires and werewolves together to consider a truce, but tensions grow when Finn places a spell on the compound, trapping the two sides together. Meanwhile, Elijah grows concerned when Rebekah fails to show up at the safe house, prompting Klaus to confront Kol for answers. Lastly, after accepting her mother's offer to jump into a new body, Rebekah turns to former Harvest girl Cassie for help when she finds herself trapped inside an insane asylum.


	34. Gonna Set Your Flag on Fire

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Originals! I only own my OC, Juliet Jordan Gilbert, and any other characters I make up along the way!

**Author's Note:** I'm actually kinda glad that the show isn't coming back till midseason, because it gives me time to catch up on this story.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next few days, I very pointedly avoided Elijah. Every morning, I took Charlotte and spent the entire day in my room. An easy task with a baby. I'll say one thing about my little girl: she sure could keep you busy.

I snuck into Charlotte's nursery as soon as I heard her wake up and smiled down at her. She caught sight of my face, and immediately held her arms up for me. I giggled and obliged, picking her up as I cooed, "Hi, baby girl! It's Mama. Mama's here."

I kept my head down as I passed Elijah in the kitchen, going to heat up a bottle of breastmilk for Charlotte, and my heart lifted a little to see that Elijah had done it already. I mumbled a quick "thanks" before beelining to the living room, where I fed my daughter breakfast, smiling like a total doofus.

Klaus had texted me earlier saying that he was going to bring Camille over because of what happened with Finn, and obviously in doing so, she'd learn about Charlotte, and he wanted my permission first. I said that as long as she was compelled to forget that she was here after Camille left, it was fine with me. My hybrid hearing picked up the sound of tires from outside, and after I quickly burped Charlotte, I stood up to go to the front porch.

"I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. The little troublemaker all the fuss has been about," I heard Klaus say, and I opened the door as I stepped out with Charlotte in my arms. I felt my stomach do a little drop at the sight of Klaus (because I had kissed Elijah the night before) but I ignored it as I walked out more.

I smiled at the stunned look on Cami's face as Klaus said, "Camille, this is Charlotte."

Cami looked at Klaus and I in confusion before turning her focus back to Charlotte. "Oh my god! But- You said- I thought she was-?"

Klaus didn't take his eyes off of Charlotte as he answered, "The only way to truly protect her was to convince the world of her death." He turned to Cami. "I hope you understand, once it is safe for you to leave here, this secret cannot leave with you."

Cami nodded in understanding as she walked past him to see Charlotte for herself. I turned Charlotte more so that Cami had a clear view of her, and Char grabbed her finger and cooed at her, which caused Cami and I to giggle.

"Oh, she's perfect!" Cami gushed.

I gave her a wide grin. "I know, right?"

* * *

Klaus, Cami, Elijah and I were all in the living room as we brainstormed our next move after the entombment of Esther.

"Now that we've entombed our mother, I intend to finish making the city safe for Charlotte," Klaus started. "Which, to start, means dealing with the lingering problem of Finn."

Cami sighed. "Oh, once he figures out what you've done to your mother, he's gonna go off the deep end."

"That's exactly why we need to keep you out of harm's way. Juliet and I will return home and take care of my wayward brother," Klaus looked to me, and I nodded in agreement. "Elijah will remain here with you."

Klaus looked over at his brother, who looked displeased as he turned to peer out the window. Klaus smirked as he turned back to us, "He's been experiencing some side effects since his ordeal as our mother's captive. Best he stay here and convalesce."

Elijah gave Klaus an offended look, and he it was clear that he was still feeling patronized by his brother and sister. "A single violent outburst at a filthy road-side café, and one never hears the end of it."

That prompted Klaus to chuckle. "Oh, Cami has a way with minds plagued by demons, brother. You two can bond!"

Cami looked over at Elijah awkwardly, while Elijah looked just plain uncomfortable. Well, I was glad that I was going on a mission with Klaus today. Err...then that meant I had to face Klaus after my hyeated kiss with Elijah. Ugh, why couldn't my life just be simple for _two seconds_?

"Well, if you excuse me, I best be on my way! Rebekah should have already woken up in the body of Angelica Barker. Once she has cut the ties of Miss Barker's former life, she'll make her way directly here." He smiled. "You should expect her shortly." He nodded at me. "Let's go, Jules."

After a million kisses to Charlotte, promises that I'd return, and then finally Klaus taking her out of my arms and into Cami's did we leave for New Orleans. I was surprised that I hadn't cried, but I think it was because I knew I'd definitely see her again.

The car ride was silent for the most part. Every time I thought of something to talk about and I turned to tell Klaus, I saw myself kissing Elijah and would immediately turn to face the front again. I don't know why it was bothering me so much-Klaus and I weren't in a relationship, we weren't in love, we weren't really anything to each other, except being the parent to our child. I knew I wasn't in love with Klaus, but recent feelings that had been stirring and recent events that had been taking place was making me change my opinion of him, especially since I was no saint now either.

Klaus, being observant, asked me what was wrong, and I told him that Charlotte had been up all night, so I didn't get much sleep. Thankfully, he accepted the answer and advised that I slept for the rest of the ride to New Orleans. Even though I wasn't tired, I shut my eyes and pretended to sleep. Anything to feel less awkward.

* * *

When we were almost home, Hayley texted saying that Jackson wanted to discuss the wedding and the merge. I told her for the two of them to meet me in my bedroom and that I'd be home soon. When we got home, I beelined to my room and smiled when I found the two of them waiting for me on the balcony outside my bedroom.

I eyed the journal of werewolf tradition's in Jackson's hands as I strolled to the balcony to meet them. "Great! you guys made it."

"We were just waiting for you," Jackson responded. "You are supposed to merge your body with your cousin, and then you take off for three days! We were just kinda afraid that you were...backing out."

"Never," I responded as I sat down. "All right, let's get this show on the road. What's in your great book of tales, Big J?"

Jackson and Hayley both gave me a bit of an annoyed look as Jackson started, "It's a mystical Unification Ceremony. It's not like we can just go to Vegas! Now, as long as the werewolves need those rings, they'll be under the witches' control." He held up the journal. "Now, if we wanna change that, we gotta do this by the book. Literally." He opened it and began to list off what we needed to perform just the ceremony. "We have to find a shaman who can perform the ceremony, trials to endure, devotion rituals..."

"Devotion rituals?" Hayley repeated, a little overwhelmed.

Jackson chuckled nervously, and I kinda wished that they had dealt with the marriage bit on their own. "Try not to sound too excited."

"I'm sorry," Hayley apologized. "This just all sounds very, um..."

"...Intimate?" Jackson finished. "Yeah... that's a marriage. Look, I know we're kinda diving into this thing, but... I think it's cool." He smiled at her. " I'm looking forward to the 'getting to know you' part. Because I want to know you."

Aww...see, why couldn't _my_ love life be that simple?

I heard a door open downstairs, and I turned my head. "Who's that?"

"Oh, they're here!" Hayley said giddily as she got up.

"Who?" Jackson asked in confusion.

"Come see!" Hayley responded as she went out the door. Jackson and I exchanged confused looks, but we went after her.

We followed Hayley to the courtyard, where a large group of werewolves were gathering, including Aiden.

"What's Jerick doing here?" Jackson asked in confusion.

"Aiden rounded up the most influential wolves so they can talk," Hayley responded. She must have done this without telling me, because I was just as confused as Jackson. But because my focus had been elsewhere for three days and because Hayley was my Alpha, I let it go.

"...About what?" Jackson went on.

Hayley gestured to the front door. "About them."

A group of vampires, including Gia and Josh, filed into the courtyard, led by Marcel. Marcel looked up at us and nodded in greeting, and we nodded back in acknowledgement.

The tension in Jackson's body as he watched the two groups approach each other was obvious, but Hayley and I stayed quiet as Marcel stopped in front of Jerick and held his arm out to get his vampires to stop talking.

"You wolves are here because you want freedom," Hayley started as she raised her voice and addressed her pack. "And, I promise you, if you stay, you will be free. But..." She looked backward at Marcel and the vampires. "We need as much help as we can get."

"My vamps and I are willing to stand with you against the witches. In return, all I want is a promise that there will be peace between our sides after the wedding," Marcel announced.

"You're the one who spent the last one hundred years killing and cursing us!" Jerick tossed out angrily.

"Which means you might wanna listen to what I have to say," Marcel retorted.

Suddenly, a new voice joined ours, and Finn came downstairs and interrupted our negotiations. "I see you're brokering a truce between mongrels and parasites!"

The glares from both communities could've burned a hole in Finn, but he ignored them as he said, "And just how long do you think that's really going to last? A month? A week? A day? What you don't yet seem to understand is that the only thing that can exist between your two degenerate species is hatred, war, and death."

During his speech, Finn had slowly started backing away, until he was technically outside of the compound. Then, he rubbed his fingers together and blew on them, and it took a second to register that he was casting a spell. He slammed his hand against the doorway of the entrance, and the entire buidling shook, startling us as the enchantment took hold. He smirked at the alarmed looks on everyone's faces, which caused me to vamp-speed toward him to attack him. However, when I slammed into the barrier, my hands burned as if they were on fire, and I howled as I backed away from it.

"But, I imagine- given a little time confined together- you'll come to see things the way I do," Finn said as he turned around and took his leave.

I looked towards Hayley, who sighed anxiously and glanced around the room at the rest the group, who were clearly furious and worried about what was going to happen now.

Hayley and I went to Marcel as Gia left the room that they were in. He was unpacking some boxes as Hayley said, "So, you got any brilliant ideas on how to keep this under control?"

Marcel smiled. "What people in New Orleans have always done when trapped in close quarters with mortal enemies." He pulled a bottle of bourbon out of the box. "Drink, and hopefully blow off a little steam."

He chucked the bottle at me, and I caught it easily. Hayley and I exchanged a look, but I simply shrugged as I unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp straight from the bottle. I held it up in Marcel's direction as if I was toasting him before taking another swig. Then, I shoved the bottle at Hayley and wiped my mouth with my jacket sleeve as I strolled out of the room. Marcel was right. We were trapped here, and there _was_ alcohol. It was time to make the best of a bad situation.

* * *

I watched down nervously from my balcony as the vampires and werewolves mingled in the courtyard. They were having drinks and trying to enjoy themselves, despite the fact that they were all trapped in the compound. Hayley and Jackson had gone to discuss more details about the wedding, and I volunteered to keep an eye on things.

I heard footsteps behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Klaus strolling up to me. I gulped as I immediately turned back to face the compound.

"Worried about your wolves?" Klaus asked as he came to a stop next to me.

Just go with it, just go with it. "Yeah. The vampires too, believe it or not. We're both deadly to each other, and I'm just worried something's gonna happen."

We both watched the crowd for a few minutes. Klaus's presence next to me was making me feel pretty uneasy, my mind flashing back to the way I had savoured Elijah's kiss. I thought of anything else to take my mind off of it, and the only thing I could think of made me turn my head to look at Klaus. "Why did you fall in love with me?"

He was obviously not expecting that question. "What?"

"Why did you fall in love with me?" I repeated.

The tips of his ears turned pink as he responded, "I...I don't know, really. You're beautiful, smart, not afraid to stand your ground. You were a breath of fresh air, and I convinced myself that I was only keeping you alive because you made life mildly interesting." He shrugged a little. "I'm not very good at lying to myself. Why do you ask?"

Uh oh. I didn't expect _that_. "No reason. I was just thinking, because Hayley and Jackson are getting wrapped up with wedding plans and stuff..."

Even _I _knew that was the lamest excuse _ever_, but Klaus was kind enough to play along. "Right. Are you still planning on going through with the merge, then?"

I sighed. "Klaus, please, I'm done having this argument. It's not like once we do the merge, I'm going to disappear. I'm just linking myself to Hayley. We'll both be separate beings, but connected." I put my hand on Klaus's arm, and he sharply looked over at it as I said, "Klaus, if I thought this was a bad idea, I wouldn't be doing it. You _know_ that. So please, just trust me on this."

Klaus was silent for a moment, before he slowly reached up and covered my hand with his own. "I trust you," He said softly. "You _know _I trust you."

My hand felt like it was burning from the heat of his own, but I nodded. "Thank you."

In our little moment, I could almost forget that I had kissed Elijah again. It almost made me want to see what would happen if I leaned forward and...

And that was enough of _that_. If you were swearing off one Mikaelson, you were swearing them both off, Gilbert.

But the look on Klaus's face as I slowly drew my hand away from his had my heart practically begging my brain to reconsider my decision. Who did you listen to: your heart or your brain?

* * *

Later that day, most of the werewolves and vampires were still in the courtyard, where the vampires were huddled in a group on one side of the room. The werewolves watched the vampires, and it became apparent that the vampires were getting anxious and restless. It was obvious that the vampires were starting to feel the hunger. Hell, even _I_ was starting to feel the hunger, but because I was a hybrid and more used to being a vampire, it was more on a muted level.

Suddenly, one of the vampires accidentally ran into Jerick, and the two openly glared at each other.

"Watch it!" Jerick growled.

"Hey!" Gia shouted as she lunged toward them and pulled the vampire away. "Watch it!"

Jackson pulled Jerick in the other direction as he said, "Break it up!"

Klaus and I had moved to the dining room, where Marcel and Kol were too. I watched the scene unfold outside before turning to face the three men.

"Things are getting testy out there. Come on, we better move this along," Marcel suggested, and I nodded in agreement.

"You think?" I asked sarcastically. "They're practically ready to tear each other's throats out, an easy feat when you're a supernatural creature."

"Uh, Vincent's boundary is too strong," Kol explained. "But, what Davina and I can do is cast a destruction spell. It would temporarily neutralize all magical objects in the compound, including the compound itself. If it works? Well, then it will give us sixty seconds to escape whilst the boundary is shut down."

"Alright, alright, that sounds good to me," Marcel agreed.

"If the spell works, it will suppress all magical objects in the vicinity. That means your rings," Klaus pointed out.

Marcel groaned in frustration. "And if we go outside in the sun without our rings, we're dead."

"You could wait till the night," I suggested.

"Agh," Marcel growled. He looked out to the courtyard where the vampires were hanging out, and the look of concern on his face at the sight of them pacing around hungrily was unmistakable. "They're also new. They're not going to be able to fight the hunger. We can't wait until nightfall. We're going to have a bloodbath on our hands before we even get close."

We all looked at each other, at a loss for options, and I sighed and turned to Kol. "Call Davina. We're sorting this mess out one way or another."

* * *

Davina and Kol started setting up for their destruction spell at the entrance of the compound, passing the ingredients through the barrier as they created a circle with sand and salt. I watched anxiously as I kept my eye on things.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Jerick picking a fight with a nearby vampire. "What are you looking at?" He demanded. He shoved the vampire, who lunged towards him.

"You want a piece of me?" the vampire demanded.

Jerick picked up a nearby table (one that _I_ had picked, might I add) and smashed it into pieces before he and another werewolf quickly picked up two wooden legs to use as stakes. When Jerick swiped at one of them, I vamp sped towards them and found myself joined by Aiden, who was helping to break up the fight.

I shoved at Jerick, and he retaliated by charging at me with the stake. It cut a long, bloody gash into my forearm, and I winced in pain as I was forced to back up. The cut was pretty deep, so the healing took a little while longer to kick in, but it was enough for the vampires to start stirring up. Aiden had the bravery to push me slightly behind him as my wound closed up.

One of the vampires jumped on Aiden, and I pushed the vampire out of the way as I bared my fangs and let my werewolf eyes show. "Anyone else want to give it a try?" What could I say? I wasn't myself when I was hungry.

One of the werewolves rushed me, and Aiden pushed me out of the way at the last second as the werewolf scratched him with a stake. I grabbed the stake from the werewolf's hands and kicked him in the stomach, but it was too late. The vampires became more and more agitated, and a lot of their faces began to change in response to fresh blood, including Josh.

Josh looked like he was going to pounce Aiden, and I moved in front of him protectively, but my protection wasn't needed. Out of nowhere, Klaus appeared.

"Joshua! You get away from him right now," He demanded

The intervention seemed to snap Josh out of it as Jackson managed to hold back the other werewolf that had tried to attack Aiden.

Marcel struggled to keep Jerick from attacking other people as he turned to face Davina, "Davina! Start the spell!"

Kol and Davina quickly continued setting up, crushing up herbs with their fingers and lighting candles.

As they did so, Klaus turned to look at me, and caught sight of the red that stained my clothing. He marched up to me, grabbing my arm and checking it over. "What happened?"

"Jerick got me with a stake," I answered, and when I saw Klaus's eyes flash with anger as he turned to deal with the werewolf himself, I quickly reached over and grabbed Klaus by the front of his jacket, turning him to face me. I accidentally brought him too close to me, close enough that we were nose to nose, but I couldn't push him back without making it look awkward. Instead, I sucked it up and ignored my racing heart as I said, "I'm fine. Really, it's all healed, and no vampires jumped me. I'm fine."

I assured him the best I could with my eyes, and my heart pounded in response to the intense stare he was giving me. I carefully let go of his jacket and was glad for the distraction of Davina and Kol starting the spell as I turned to face them, trying not to think about Klaus staring at me.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind came through and blew out all of the candles around them, and Davina gasped. Davina looked at the threshold of the house and held out her hand to check for the boundary.

Kol looked alarmed when he caught her reaching out toward the barrier and lunged to stop her. "Davina!"

She kept going, though, and her hand touched Kol's without burning, revealing that the spell had worked. Davina smiled as she caught my eye, and I gave her a big grin and thumbs up in return, showing her how proud of her I was.

"Okay, Jack, now!" Hayley stepped forward.

"Come on, go!" Jackson said as he began rushing the werewolves out of the house, along with Hayley. The vampire stayed back, because they couldn't leave in the daylight. The hid out in the shadows until it was safe again.

"Remember, sixty seconds!" Kol reminded us as we all ran out. I began running out with Klaus, Kol on my heels, but Klaus suddenly grabbed Kol by the shoulder.

"Slight change of plans, brother," Klaus announced, and he threw him back into the compound, where the hungry vampires were. When Kol landed on the ground, he hit his head, cutting his forehead open. "I no longer have to treat you as anything but the treacherous liar you truly are."

"Klaus, what's going on?" I asked as I screeched to a stop beside Davina.

"What the bloody hell?" Kol wondered as he sat up.

"Where is she?" Klaus demanded.

Kol didn't answer, instead looking at the hungry vampires that he was surrounded by and now trapped with. Since Kol was sitting in sunlight, he was safe, but he wouldn't be for much longer when their rings were no longer neutralized by the spell.

"_Please_!" Davina pleaded with Klaus, before turning to me and grabbing my arm insistently. "They'll _kill_ him!"

I held Davina's hand as I turned to face Klaus. "Klaus, what the hell do you think you're doing? Why did you do that to Kol?"

"Juliet, I am aware of how fond of Davina you are, but Kol should have thought about that before he betrayed our sister!"

I looked over at Kol in shock for confirmation, but he simply didn't respond as Klaus said, "Rebekah never made it to her new body, did she? And, seeing as you cast the spell- and, well, you're _you_\- I'd hardly call it an uncrackable case!"

"Rebekah's _fine_, Nik," Kol insisted, angrily walking towards us. "It was a prank, nothing more than anything you lot have done to me, but I bet it's different when it's one of-" he cut himself off as he tried to cross the boundary, but it was back up.

"Ooh," Klaus smirked. "Barrier's back up."

The vampires, realizing that it was safe to come out into the sun again, began to swarm Kol. "And those vampires look oh-so hungry. Now, I was willing to welcome you back in my home, but you had to return to your petty, selfish jealousies! Well, let's see how well they help you survive when you're stuck in there!" Klaus finished, and he stormed away, leaving Davina and I to watch Kol and the vampires.

"Jules, _do_ something!" Davina begged me.

I looked at her helplessly, wrapping my arm around her and hugging her to my side. "I don't know what to do!" I told her honestly. I looked at Marcel, who had harshly nudged Kol, who was now backing away from the vampires in fear.

"Marcel!" I called out to get his attention, and when he turned around, I gave him a pleading look as I then looked down at Davina, who was plastered to my side as she looked at Kol being swarmed by vampires.

He sighed, but went after him, pushing other vampires out of the way. He jabbed a finger at Kol's chest, "If I were you, I'd make myself scarce." Marcel pointed up the stairs. "Go!"

Kol didn't waste a minute; he flew up the stairs, tripping a few times in his rush.

I looked down at Davina, who looked up at me. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

"You're welcome," I told her. Now that Charlotte was back with me, my love for Davina was starting to grow more, and I felt ashamed that I hadn't spent more time with her before, drowning in my own misery. I smirked at her. "_Kol Mikaelson_?"

She burst into a smile just at his name, but she looked up at me as she retorted, "_Klaus Mikaelson_?"

I spluttered. "Wha-what are you talking about?"

"Oh please," She said. "I saw the look you two were giving each other when he saw that you were hurt. _Everybody_ could see it. It was so obvious."

"It was _not_," I insisted, but after Davina gave me a look that told me she was not the least bit convinced, I sighed and hugged her closer to me. "You are getting too smart for your own good."

"That's the beauty of growing up," she reminded me.

"Yeah, well, take it from me," I responded. "Growing up _sucks_."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Next chapter hopefully soon!**

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* * *

**Next chapter...**

_**Brotherhood of the Damned...**_

FAMILY IS WHO YOU FIGHT FOR - Armed with more power than ever, Finn creates an elaborate spell that allows him to take the upper hand and trap his brothers Klaus and Elijah. Realizing that Kol is also in trouble, Davina has no choice but to team up with the Originals to help. After the deadly events in the previous episode, Marcel must try to calm his volatile pack of suffering vampires, while remembering his days as a soldier during World War I when his leadership skills were equally brought to the test. Finally, Hayley finds herself conflicted when she learns that she and Jackson must participate in extreme and unconventional rituals prior to their wedding, which will put them both in a dangerous position and put Hayley at odds with Juliet.


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